My Life Would Suck Without You
by peanutbutter126
Summary: Sometimes it's the smallest things that matter the most. A collection of NaruSaku oneshots.
1. Kiss

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Nor do I own Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You.

Just a bunch of NaruSaku drabbles. Here's the first one.

* * *

_Kiss_

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan – just one?"

She crossed her arms and looked down at him. "No, Naruto. My parents are just inside." Seeing him beginning to pout, she added, "Besides, I just gave up my whole evening to eat at Ichiraku's with you, isn't that enough?"

"No!" He widened his eyes and Sakura had to sigh. Oh how she hated the Blue Eyes Jutsu. "Pleeease? I won't see you for a long time and I'll miss you."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, right here, at half past seven like any other day."

"Yeah, but, but…" The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched as his voice lowered into that enticing whine. God, why did they go through this _every day?_

"You're being a baby, Naruto," she said half-heartedly.

He grinned. "That's why you love me so much."

"I… just…" She threw up her hands, turning away to hide the flush of her cheeks. His smile widened. "Good_night_, Naruto."

"Just a quick one?"

"You aren't going to leave until I say yes, am I right?"

"Yup! You know me so well, Sakura-chan. We're _made_ for each other, see?" he crowed, his voice rising.

"Shh! My parents will hear you!"

He gave her a sly grin. "So? It's not like they don't know already. I think they quite like me, actually. You should see how your mother looks at me…"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "You're making this very difficult."

"To resist me?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could sputter out, "I-I'm going to ignore that."

"You're blushing," he said in a singsong voice.

"Cut it out!" And he kept singing. She glanced down the street; there were a few late night walkers and they were smiling at the young couple. Sakura could have sworn that the old woman had whispered something along the lines of 'young love' or something to her husband. "Naruto, you… fine!"

He stopped singing and smiled up at her. "Fine what?"

"Just… just one more. Last one. Then you're getting out of here, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" He mock saluted her. Hell, he even had the nerve to pucker up his lips. "I'm ready," he said in a voice that made Sakura shiver.

"But I get to stay on this step," she said, placing her hands on his shoulders. Naruto was taller than her now. Even perched on the first step of her porch, she was just level with his face.

"Sure. Whatever makes you love-" His voice was cut off as Sakura pressed her lips against his. It was always like this, every night. They would spend the evening together, and when it was time to part ways, he would whine, she would reject, he would persist, and she would kiss.

If there was one thing Uzumaki Naruto truly believed in, it was that the last ones were the best.

They rested their foreheads together when the kiss ended, gazing into each other's eyes. This lasted longer than the kiss itself. Neither of them would admit it, but it was this tranquil silence and mutual understanding that lit up the end of the day. It just felt… good.

"Did I tell you?" Sakura whispered.

"Tell me what?"

"That you taste like ramen."

He stole another quick peck from her. She smacked his shoulder playfully but didn't look away. He grinned. "And did I tell you?"

"What?"

"That you taste of me."


	2. Jealous

_Jealous_

Sakura blinked up and down the street as she left the hospital. Strange… Naruto wasn't even here. He was usually waiting by the time she left the building, and he hadn't missed a day picking her up from work since… well, since they had become a bit more than good friends.

"Looking for someone?"

She looked around for the owner of the husky voice a bit more eagerly than she liked. A small ball of disappointment made itself comfortable in the pit of her stomach. "Oh. Kiba. Hi." Akamaru twined his large body around her legs in greeting and she stroked his head. "Hello, Akamaru."

"He likes girls that smell like flowers," Kiba chuckled.

"I should smell more like blood, I think."

He whistled. "Whoa, you found out already?"

"What?" Sakura blinked. "I just came out of an operation."

The smile faded. "Oh, right. So you don't know yet?"

"Know what?" she asked, confused.

Heavens, Kiba grinned just like Naruto. "Nah, nothing."

Her eyebrow rose. Then, deciding that he was just pulling off a Naruto and being an idiot, she shook her head. "Whatever. Have you seen Naruto?"

He burst out laughing. "Hell, this is priceless!"

Sakura frowned. "What is _up _with you today, Kiba? Spit it out already!"

"Ha… heh, he's at the park."

All annoyance at the Inuzuka ebbed away. "He is? I wonder what he's doing… he usually comes to get me after my shift… why are you staring at me like that?"

He composed himself solemnly despite the corner of his mouth continuously tugging upward. "Sakura, did I tell you I saw Naruto hugging Ino?"

Silence. Sakura's chest clenched uncomfortably. "So what?" she managed to force out.

Kiba stared incredulously at her. "What, you don't mind?"

"Of… of course not! Ino is his friend, too."

"True… but he's your _boy_friend," he emphasised.

_God, he's right… _Sakura shook her head. "You can't expect me to keep him under a leash…" _Really? _a rebellious voice whispered in the back of her mind. "Talk about leashes, shouldn't you be getting home, Kiba?"

His knowing chuckle irked her more than it should. "Come on, Akamaru. Never stick around a girl about to blow. See you around, Haruno."

"Go away, Inuzuka." Sakura knew she was a little too irritated by this latest… development. Naruto was a pretty open guy after all. He gave away as many hugs as he ate ramen. But usually she was the one in his arms, and even though she knew the likelihood that he was… unfaithful… was pretty low, Sakura could not help but be…

And to _Ino_ of all people…

For a few minutes, she just stood there, brow furrowed in indecision. Then, with more determination than she felt, Sakura walked off.

Where had Kiba said her boyfriend was?

* * *

"Do you sometimes feel like life is crushing you, Naruto?"

"Mm, sometimes. Usually when Sakura is angry."

She chuckled softly and shifted her head onto a more comfortable position on his lap. "What exactly is love, do you think?"

"Love?" He leaned back, palms pressing against the grass, and tilted his head back to gaze at the ethereal orange of the setting sun. "Just… loving someone, I suppose."

"Which letter of 'exactly' is missing from your dictionary, Mr State the Obvious?"

"Eh? But that's so hard… ow! Don't pinch!" Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his thigh. "Okay, fine; to me, it's thinking of that special person every day, every minute, every second." His features melted into a soft smile. "When she's sad, you wish you could swap places and take the pain for her. And when she's happy it's like your world is lighting up…"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me this is how you made Forehead fall for you."

"Something like that," he grinned.

"Why do you have it so _easy_?" She huffed at her bangs, succeeding only in having them flop back onto her face. Naruto reached forward and tucked the strands behind her ear. She stared into his eyes for a moment, her lips forming a wistful smile. "I wish the guy from yesterday was like you, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Should I be flattered?"

"Mm hmm. He was a real octopus."

"That many arms?"

"You know what I mean."

"Ne… why don't you just tell him?"

"That he's ugly and totally inconsiderate of a beautiful woman's feelings? Yeah, I think I might… wait, I don't even know his name. That might be a problem…"

"I was talking about Shikamaru."

Naruto had to jerk his head back as Ino suddenly sat up, twisting around to gawk at him. "What, are you kidding?" she said in disbelief. "I can't just go _tell him_!"

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters, he's a lazy old bum who's only interested in some stupid board game!"

"But you like him," Naruto pointed out, grinning.

"What? I… I don't like him!" Ino sputtered, her cheeks going red. After a pointed look from her companion, she grudgingly added, "Okay, maybe I do… a bit. Fine, fine! He's more of a man than I thought. But… oh God, I just don't know anymore!"

He rubbed her back soothingly. "Are you sure you thought about this enough?"

"Enough?" She laughed miserably. "I've been thinking about it for _weeks_! You actually think I can't handle a bunch of desperate missing-nin? I was distracted!"

"You shouldn't let your emotions affect your missions, Ino."

"_You're_ talking," she shot back. He grinned sheepishly. Ino sighed and tapped her forehead with her fingers. "I guess I should go find him anyway because… you know. Chouji, too."

"Ah. I think I'll come along later."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks." Her gaze focused on something in the distance, and she chuckled. "Well, I think I smell something sour."

"Huh?" Naruto was confused.

"Have fun." She patted his shoulder and got up.

"Sure you're okay?"

"I'll have to be, right?"

"I'm here if you need me, Ino," he promised.

She flashed him a grateful smile. Then she was gone. Naruto watched her leave. She faded into the trees and disappeared from his sight.

"I'm not intruding, am I?"

Naruto jumped. He turned. There, standing over him, was a wistful Sakura. "Oh crap!" he exclaimed, getting quickly to his feet. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry! I forgot… I'm sorry! Look, I'll make it up to you. How about-"

"What were you doing with Ino?"

His hands lowered. "Oh. You saw that?"

"Was I not supposed to?"

"No no! It wasn't like that!" It was frightening how emotionless her face was. "She was having a bad day – I was just helping out."

"Really? How, exactly?"

"Sakura-chan…?"

She seemed to deflate. She sighed heavily. "I know, I know," she muttered. "I'm being unreasonable, aren't I? It's not that I don't _trust_ you… it's just… God, I sound like some girl out of _Icha Icha Paradise_!"

"Yeah, you do," Naruto agreed.

Sakura stared at him for a moment, and then slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Naruto!" she scolded, blushing. Her tone lightened a little, her shoulders unclenching.

He cupped her chin in his large hand and tilted her face up to his. They locked gazes. "You were jealous, weren't you?" he asked softly.

She tired to look away. "What are you talking about? Why would I be jealous? I'm not jealous…"

"Sakura," he said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. She made herself look at him; his eyes were deep, smouldering, and they lured her in. "Getting all protective over me is good, don't get me wrong, but you really don't need to worry like that."

"Protective? Who's being protective?"

"Don't be silly," he sighed, and drew her into his arms. Sakura automatically laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat, his deep breathing. He was warm. "How does this feel?"

"Nice," she answered without thinking. "No, wait – I didn't mean… you were hugging Ino like this!" There, it was out.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Hell, he wasn't even guilty! "What if I told you I wasn't holding her like this?" he asked. "How do you feel about that?"

She felt assured, safe, because it was just too easy to believe Naruto. But… "What about Ino?"

"You think too much, Sakura. She's been going through a hard time. Baa-chan gave her a long talk about that last mission, and today with Asuma-sensei's anniversary – she just needed a hug, that's all."

She hesitated. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"Mm… what about me?"

"Huh?"

"If Ino got a hug, where's mine?"

"Oh. You don't get one."

Sakura jerked away. "What?"

He laughed and pulled her back. "So you _are_ jealous," he said teasingly.

"I'm not jealous!" She could feel her face heating.

"Uh huh," he replied sceptically.

"You… just shut up, Naruto."

His grin widened. "Shut up and what?"

"… Shut up and kiss me."


	3. Roses

Whoop! It's my birthday! Officially fifteen, folks! Well, okay, so I'm a day late, but that's alright. I was going to update Precious People for this special day but I couldn't get the chapter finished in time. I resorted to updating a drabble. It's based off some old corny saying my Mum always tells me.

I've been pretty busy lately and my mind is whirling with plot bunnies that won't leave me alone, so just a future warning that it might be another week or so before I update Precious People.

* * *

_Roses_

There were many stars scattered across the sky tonight, Sakura noticed. The moon curved in a lustrous crescent, seeming to glow brighter than usual. It was the perfect night.

Something light brushed against her hand. Subtly, Sakura tucked her arm to her side and withdrew. She didn't need to look to know that Naruto's hand was wrenching in mock dismay and making moves to find hers. They were both looking in the opposite direction; Naruto even had whistled that ridiculous tune of his.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," he said casually.

"Yes?"

"The moon looks close tonight, doesn't it?" Again, his skin brushed against hers, and her fingers twitched because he was warm and she had always liked the way his hand was big and closed strongly on hers.

Sakura pretended not to notice.

"The stars are out tonight," she agreed.

"Yeah…" He raised his arm and pointed overhead. "See those two stars over there? See how _close_ they are?" And his pinky teasingly hooked onto hers. It was almost as if they were making a childish promise… but they didn't base their pledges on such symbolism. The roots of their bond were entrenched on something neither of them could explain, and even if they could would never voice such a delicate thing.

"They must be brother and sister. Twins, maybe."

"Or maybe they're not brother and sister," he suggested. "Maybe they're friends. Really, really _close_ friends." Prising, gently. She opened up. He _was_ warm. "Maybe they're us."

"Maybe." Still not looking at each other.

A pause. Her neck was starting to feel stiff. "Nah," Naruto said. "That's not us."

It took a moment. When it registered that what had left her boyfriend's lips was not remotely romantic or corny at all, Sakura turned to look at him in surprise and faint vestiges of hurt. She frowned. "What…" Her voice trailed off when she met his gaze. His eyes. They were blue and clear and crinkled at the edges when he smiled. Which was what he was doing right now.

"Nothing shines like Sakura-chan," he said, grinning. "You're the only one bright enough to catch my attention."

"Baka." She relaxed and allowed herself to lean against his side as they walked down the path, vaguely aware that she was smiling.

Yes, it was the perfect night. Now, if only… Sakura shook her head. It would come. It wasn't like Naruto would forget. He never forgot. He was just biding his time, waiting for the right moment. She just had to be patient.

But, half an hour later, and by that time they had to be at least halfway to their nameless destination, he still hadn't made a move toward anything. Patience, Sakura told herself. Patience.

They hiked to the top of the Hokage Monument. They sat together, her leaning against him, and gazed down at the village. Sakura located their old training ground below them. She imagined that she could see the three stumps, with twelve-year-old Naruto tied to the middle and she and Sasuke sitting against the other two. That was where everything had started. The start of what was still drawing to an end. Back then, they had been Team Seven.

And now… it was just the two of them. Sakura pressed closer to Naruto's side and he drew his arm around her, protectively, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking of. There was a way to deal. There always was. Maybe… maybe just the two of them was enough.

"It's getting late, isn't it?" Naruto's voice was soft as he murmured into her hair. He was still the loudest ninja Sakura knew she would ever come across, but he was always quieter, somehow gentler, when he was with her. She liked this side of him, because only she was witness to the Uzumaki Naruto she had fallen for.

"Mm hmm." She waited.

"You want to go home now?"

She hesitated. "Already?" she asked. "Isn't it a bit… early?"

He chuckled. "Sakura, it's almost midnight."

"Really?" She sat up and stared up at the sky. He was right. Just how long had they been sitting here? "But…"

"But what?"

Biting her lip. "Aren't you… aren't you missing something?" He couldn't have forgotten. He would never forget…

He blinked at her. "Missing what?"

Sakura stared at him. She was… well, she was dumbfounded. He forgot. He _forgot_. Her fingers clenched into a solid fist. "Did I tell you," she said slowly, through gritted teeth. How high was the Hokage Monument again? High enough for it to hurt. "Did I tell you," she repeated, looking into his eyes, "that today was my birthday?"

He gazed back at her, unflinching. "Nope!" Naruto said cheerfully, grinning.

Shaking, now. "You-"

"I figured it out myself, remember?" he said smoothly. That smile made her falter. "You wouldn't tell me when I asked you. We were still in the Academy. I asked around. Ino, Ami, I asked everyone. That's how I found out. You didn't tell me."

She thought back, knew he was lying. How could she have never told him? Impossible! Sakura searched her archive of memories… and failed to remember. But… still! "I told you just now," she defended. "And even when I didn't tell you, you still remembered." Brandishing the fist. "I waited all day, _all day_… you… you…" How could he have forgotten? He wasn't supposed to forget. He was _Naruto._ He always remembered.

Naruto was smiling at her. "Ino and Lee gave you presents this morning," he said. Her eyes widened. "Yeah, I saw that. Why's my present so important to you?"

Sakura could feel her cheeks heating up. "B-because," she sputtered. "Just because!"

"But why?"

"You're… different."

"How different?" he persisted. He was leaning forward, looking expectantly, curiously, at her, smiling. The corner of her mouth twitched and she pulled back.

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Of course not."

"You…" She was losing it. "You're my boyfriend!"

God, that _smile_! "What difference does that make?"

"It makes you… special," she offered weakly.

"Okay, so I'm different and I'm special. What else is on today's agenda, Sakura-dono?"

Sakura groped around for something,_ anything_. "Naruto – you…" All intelligent rebuttals abandoned her. Raised her fist. "I can't believe you-"

Grabbed her wrist. Pressed his lips against hers. Immobilised her. Sakura's arm began to drop.

Then they broke apart. "Happy birthday, Sakura-chan." And he was holding a bouquet of roses that had definitely not been there before.

"Na… Naruto…" She accepted them, smelt them. The buds glistened in the moonlight. Sakura smiled faintly at the young man. "Just a bunch of roses? You cheapskate."

"Oh, they're nothing," Naruto said dismissively, waving his hand. "Ino gave them to me for free."

"… What?"

"Hey, hey, calm down. Hear me out first, okay?"

She considered. Then she lowered her fist. "Talk."

He grinned. "I'll love you until the last one dies."

She narrowed her eyes. "Not much of a claim, is it?"

"Look closer."

And she did. She saw it. "One of them is…" She picked it out. "A fake."

He was suddenly behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. His head rested on her shoulder, his face touching hers. She heard him clearly despite the whisper.

"Exactly, Sakura… exactly."

"... You're an idiot."

"But you love me," he pointed out.

She only smiled and twirled the stiff, unperishable rose in her fingers.


	4. Ice Cream

Thought of this in the shower. Idea came from my oneshot Ice Cream. Shortest drabble yet.

* * *

_Ice Cream_

He liked watching her in the kitchen. He liked her in an apron, too. She sort of glided fluidly from the cupboard to the sink to the counter. Distracting her, she had warned once, was forbidden, especially when she was cooking. He'd learned the first time. The walls still didn't look quite the same shade of colour they had started out. No, he really had learned. This time, he just leaned against the door frame and admired her.

Hips turning this way and that, hair brushing against the small of her back, the small furrow of her brow in concentration… Naruto was enjoying himself.

But of course, all good things come to an end.

She turned, saw him standing there, shook her head with the sort of expression a mother would scold her child with. "Naruto, what are you doing there? Come help me."

"No distractions, you said," he pointed out, grinning.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. Then she returned her attention back to the bowl of batter in her arms, and stirred with vigour. There were streaks of it on her cheeks, and Naruto was just contemplating their flavour when she said, "Can you pass me the ice cream please, Naruto?"

He froze. Ice cream? Crap.

"Er, I don't think-"

"It's in the fridge."

He walked up to her, twisting his fingers behind his back. That stare, Kami, it made him _cower_. "Did I tell you that I, uh, ate it?"

Eyes narrowed. Dangerously. "When?"

"When you were in the shower." Whimpering now. Gulping. She was… oh shit, she was putting down the bowl… "Ah, Sakura!" Naruto stammered, waving his hands in front of him. "I was hungry and I just, I just thought-" She grabbed him by the collar. "Please don't ki-"

Yanked him down. And punished him.

They didn't close their eyes. Not this time. Gazed into each other's. Naruto saw something smouldering in Sakura's.

Maybe he should get himself in trouble with her more often.

Then they pulled away. Sakura, breathing heavily, smiled mischievously as she ran her tongue along her lips. "Mm… vanilla, thought so."


	5. Freeloader

_Freeloader_

Naruto turned up on her doorstep one day, towel in one hand, clothes in the other. "There's no hot water at my place," he said, grinning. "I'm going to borrow your shower, 'kay?"

"You forgot to pay the bills, didn't you?" Sakura sighed, arms folded. She had been in the middle of changing into her pyjamas and sitting down to read something. Naruto was lucky that she had moved out a few months prior; the chances of her parents letting him march in like that were slimmer than Ino adopting Chouji's diet.

"Maybe." Naruto disappeared into the bathroom, and the sound of water gushing from the faucet soon followed. "Hey, you changed your shampoo. No wonder – I thought you hadn't been smelling like Pakkun lately."

The magazine Sakura had just picked up smacked back down on the coffee table as she rose to her feet and stormed to the bathroom door. "You are in big trouble, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Ehh? What'd I do?"

"You just said I smelled like a dog!"

"No, I meant – wait, don't open the door!"

"You are sooo… put some pants on!"

"_I'm showering!"_

"B-Baka!"

Another time, he dropped by to ask if she had any toothpaste. Sakura had been asleep on the couch that time, having just returned from a mission. Truthfully, if it wasn't for waking up in her bed and walking into the kitchen to find a bento box made on the table, she wouldn't have known that Naruto had been there at all.

She did notice that her toothpaste was gone, though.

Two days after that, he came again with two cups of instant ramen and plopped himself down at her table. "Let's have dinner together, Sakura-chan!" he said cheerfully, peeling back the lids.

Raising an eyebrow, she shut the front door and eyed him. "What makes you think I haven't already eaten?" She hadn't, actually. After a bad day at the hospital, she couldn't decide what to eat, and had settled for coffee instead. That was probably the reason why she was still awake at two in the morning. Why Naruto was though, she had no idea.

"It doesn't matter. We can still eat together, right?"

"Why are you even awake at this time?" She sat down and accepted the chopsticks he handed her. The ramen looked very enticing. What a traitor her appetite was.

"Why are _you_?" Naruto asked back.

She had no answer, really, and just said, "Don't talk with your mouth full."

He slurped up his noodles and stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes and kicked him under the table as she ate. For the rest of the night, they avoided questions: why she was awake, why he was awake, and why he at her place at two in the morning.

Ino asked her about Naruto's frequent visits to her house one day. "Are you sleeping with him?" she asked suspiciously at the teahouse.

Sakura almost spewed out her tea. "Are you for real?" she asked in astonishment. "Hell no!"

"Well, you've been getting pretty close lately, so I thought…"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Really? Then why did I find a pair of orange boxers in your house?"

Sakura blinked and cocked her head. "There is a pair of orange boxers in my house?" she asked cluelessly. Then she shook her head. "Wait a minute – why were you in my house in the first place?" Her humble abode was strangely popular all of a sudden. At least Naruto had the grace to knock.

Ino waved her hand around dismissively. "It's not important." Before her companion could protest, she leaned forward on her elbows and looked at Sakura. "Is there a particular reason why he's at your place so often? I hear he's there every night these days."

"Not every night," she muttered.

"What is up with you two anyway?"

"Nothing is 'up', Ino. Drink your tea."

"I refuse to believe that Naruto is just freeloading off you."

Was that it? Naruto was just being Naruto and freeloading off her, perhaps. That would explain things. In fact, it was the most logical explanation. Then… why did Sakura feel… disappointed? "Yeah," she said softly. "He's probably just freeloading."

There was a period of time when Naruto didn't come to her at night. Sakura often found herself staying up late, waiting for him to turn up. That idiot – he had completely screwed with her routine. Her house wasn't big by any standards; it was barely comparable to her parents'. But all the same, it felt awfully silent when Naruto wasn't hijacking her bathroom or rummaging through her kitchen. For all his visits, he might as well get himself the spare key.

It wasn't like Naruto to disappear like that (no, it was _exactly_ like Naruto). His missions started to go for days, weeks, and Sakura worried that she had done or said something wrong. Ino's pestering didn't help, either. One of her comments had stuck, though, and for some reason, it had hurt.

Were they really over even though they had barely started?

Sakura didn't know. She told herself she didn't care. She repeated that to herself, like a mantra, until she found herself knocking on Naruto's door at two in the morning.

She knew he had just gotten back from another of his missions, and judging by his wet hair, he'd just gotten out of the shower. Huh, so his water was back. His eyes widened a little at the sight of her in her pyjamas with two cups of ramen.

"Sakura?" he asked uncertainly.

"The tap's broken and my house is flooded," she said shortly, brushing past him.

She didn't miss his grin. "Took you long enough." That was it, no elaboration. She didn't ask. Chuckling, he followed her. "Isn't a flooded house a bit big of an excuse for your first time?"

"Who said it was an excuse?" She sat down at his kitchen table and broke the chopsticks. "You want beef or chicken?"

They left it unsaid, because really, confessions were overrated.

* * *

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but every 'drabble' in this story so far has had the phrase 'did I tell you' somewhere in it, hence the title. It's getting a little hard to keep that up now - it actually has to make me think, and that doesn't really make it a quick drabble/short oneshot. I'll have to break that chain now - might even change the title sometime.


	6. Partner

Note: Yeah, I changed the title. 'Did I Tell You' was still good even though I'd broken the pattern, but I suddenly thought that the name of Kelly Clarkson's new song gave it a bit more character. Sorry if anyone liked the old title.

School's really bothering me, so I can't work much on my multi-chapter stories, but I've been drabbling a lot, so I hope the shorter stories make up for it!

* * *

_Partner_

Naruto likes fighting alongside Sakura.

Some say that a good partnership is a well-oiled machine; something that will run seamlessly without hesitation. It is like your minds are connected and you know exactly when your ally will throw shuriken at the opponent lurking behind you. That is how a good partnership is supposed to be. Even Kakashi-sensei says so.

Yeah right.

Naruto likes having Sakura as a partner, simply because they clash brutally together in a whirl of disagreements and strange teamwork, and those caught in the carnage are in for some trouble.

"I told you it was an ambush!" She ducks under a brace of kunai and adjusts her glove before smashing her fist down on the ground, rupturing the earth like a broken blood vessel. And boy, did she look annoyed.

He's crouched, and she lands lightly on his back before springing back into the fray. "Aww, Sakura! Now I have footprints on my back!" A powerful swirl of chakra condenses in his hand. "And how was I supposed to know it was an ambush?" he protests.

"Because I _told you_!"

He hates seeing her hurt. They don't always come back unscathed, and Naruto has fled back to Konoha with Sakura bloody and limp in his arms too many times. Sometimes he is the one carried back. Every time Tsunade walks out of the hospital room with a weary smile and mutters about reckless youngsters, they think that they should stop doing this, and that it's time to take Yamato-taichou's advice and be more 'professional'.

They don't quite get around to it.

At the end of the day, when they are both panting and collapsing to the ravaged ground, Naruto always grins and sits down next to his equally fatigued companion. "Ramen," he says.

Sakura eyes him as she tightens a bandage on her arm with her teeth. "It's not healthy for you. Dango."

"Gee, aren't you turning into Anko?" He helps her with the bandages. He's tried to learn some medical jutsu from her in preparation for situations like these, where Sakura is just too tired and drained to heal herself. She says she will teach him sometime. "Yakitori."

"Tempura."

"Sashimi."

"Niku… you know what; this will go on all day. Let's just get ramen."

"Yatta!"

They always end up getting ramen, and after that they always wind up crammed together on Naruto's couch. They always wake up bleary-eyed and Sakura pokes at Naruto while making coffee and complains that he was snoring in her ear all night.

But the point is, they always come back alive.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Mm?"

"You wouldn't by any chance know why my shirts are all orange, would you?"

"Um, you see, I got some new pants yesterday, and I thought you'd tell me to do your washing anyway… so I chucked them in the same wash – I didn't know the colour would run, I swear!"

"… Come over here, sweetie."

"Okay… why?"

"So I can kill you, baka!"

Alive? Scratch that.

Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura always come back together.


	7. Eat Your Vegetables

_Eat Your Vegetables_

Contrary to common belief, Sakura was not a very good cook.

She could cook the basics, which was enough to get by. In other words, she could feed herself. But tell her to prepare a meal… she threw ingredients together and came up with something delicious-looking and not-so-delicious tasting. Sakura knew she was a horrible cook; it annoyed her to no end.

Naruto never complained about her cooking. Whenever Sakura tried to persuade him out of eating ramen for every meal, Naruto's compromise was that _she_ cooked. It was ridiculous; he ate the food with such delight when Sakura didn't even want to touch it. Ino would have called it 'sweet'; Sakura called it idiotic.

Another ill-prepared meal found Sakura asking him about it. "How can you _eat_ that?" It looked nice, she conceded, but the tofu was salty and an impressive amount of fish had been charred an ugly black.

He was scooping himself another bowl of rice. Her wide-eyed stare of dismay seemed to amuse him. "Because my stomach is hardy?" he speculated, chortling as he helped himself.

Sakura snorted. For a response so far-fetched, it was quite logical – Naruto was indestructible no matter which way she looked at it, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that he _could_ die – and that when he did he would leave her.

She hoped he wouldn't die of food poisoning.

He bought her lunch to the hospital when she was working overtime once and said he made it. It was a cute little bento box with the contents arranged in a clumsy face. It tasted great, and it made Sakura smile.

"You cook way better than I do," she told him when they were sitting together in the courtyard.

"So?" he shrugged.

"What's the point of getting me to cook? I'll end up melting your stomach one day, I swear."

Naruto smiled at her. "Don't you like cooking for me?"

"I…" Sakura found that she could not say no. It was hard. She hated her own cooking, yes, but she always prepared meals with the assurance that Naruto would finish every scrap.

He didn't stay to hear her answer. "I want shrimp for breakfast!" he called, and before Sakura could hit him, he was gone.

The third time she asked him was again at the hospital. It was Naruto's fault. The idiot had broken his arm during a mission to Lightning. Sakura was hesitant about bringing him food; she was quite convinced that he would be better off with the hospital food. It was, surprisingly enough, Hinata who swayed her. She ran into the pale-eyed girl on her way back to Naruto's apartment.

"Naruto-kun likes everything about you," she said, smiling softly.

That was how she ended up in Naruto's hospital room, feeding him lunch.

"Your left arm isn't broken," she grumbled at him, blowing lightly on a meatball.

"Aww, don't be like that, Sakura. You know you love me."

"… Shut up, baka."

Naruto would not stop grinning. "Ne, ne, Sakura-chan," he said through a mouthful, "will you still cook for me when we get married?"

Thankfully, Sakura managed to expertly conceal her blush behind a yawn. "Who said we're going to get married?" she asked casually, though she wasn't going to deny that she was paying far more attention than necessary to his undelivered response.

"Don't you want to get married?" Naruto's eyes were wide.

"Of course I do… just maybe not to you."

"Why not?" He sounded distraught now. "What's so bad about me?"

Sakura didn't even need a prompt. "You have horrible fashion sense, you don't have a healthy eating diet, you hardly ever clean your house, you're loud, you're-"

He cut through her, smiling. "But I eat your food."

That stopped her. "But you eat my food," Sakura relented after no inspiration for a coherent comeback came.

"So that means you're going to marry me," Naruto concluded cheerfully.

"How did you land on _that_ square?"

"If your cooking is so bad that no one will want to eat it, that means no one will want to marry you."

Her mouth fell open. She had never looked at it that way. "S-So? I can't be the only one who can't cook."

"But don't you want to be able to go up to their faces and say 'Hah, _I'm_ taken'?"

"No…"

"Sakura." Despite his broken arm, Naruto managed to roll out of bed and squat down in front of the pink-haired girl, gazing up at her face. His blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Can I ask you a question?"

She rolled her eyes. Since when did Naruto ever ask or permission? Holding herself in check, she nodded.

"Say… if you're not going to marry me, who _would_ you marry?"

_Who would I…_ This time, Sakura could not restrain her blush. Lee was still very courteous toward her and there was that new medic… except they didn't have blond hair, blue eyes and the natural tendency to make her laugh and love them.

Her hands moved in a blur. Naruto suddenly fell back on his rear, gagged by the large quantity of cabbage Sakura had shoved into his mouth.

"… Eat your vegetables, baka."


	8. Property

_Property_

"Sakura," Naruto whined. "Can we go now? I'm hungry."

She briefly looked up from the checklist of storeroom supplies that was the culprit of her staying back. "I'm not done yet. You can go first if you like. And I really don't think you should be sitting on that box; it holds soldier pills." She gave him a stern look until he grumbled and got up. "You're not even supposed to be in here anyway."

"But I'm waiting for you!" Kami, did he have to pout every opportunity he got?

Sakura made a shooing gesture with her hands. "Don't be a big baby," she scolded. "You can wait outside. Now _go_."

Like she had known he would, he obeyed. "Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, his hopeful face all that poked into the room. "We're going out on a date later, right?" She didn't know when he had started calling their trips to Ichiraku's 'dates', but, listening to the colleague she had forgotten was in the room giggle, Sakura realised that she really needed to get Naruto to drop that habit. He was going to be the social ruin of her.

"He's sweet," her companion said after Sakura had gone out of her way to make Naruto sit down on the bench outside.

Sakura picked up her clipboard again. "He's annoying, if anything," she grimaced. "Blood-stopping pills?"

"Four boxes. Is he your boyfriend?"

Now Sakura had to look at her. Hitomi, she seemed to remember her fellow medic-nin's name was. She had started working at the hospital around the same time as Sakura, but the latter had never gotten to know her very well.

Pursing her lips, Sakura just marked off the pills on her list.

"Why do you always treat him like that? I wouldn't mind a boyfriend who picked me up from work every day." Hitomi giggled again at the thought. Boy, wasn't she fanatical?

"He's not really my boyfriend," Sakura said, forcing a smile. No, he was just a thick-headed teammate who asked her out on a date every second day. And he liked sleeping over at her place. And he only tried to hold her hand in the street once a week.

Hitomi seemed surprised. "Really? I thought..." She seemed to forget what she had thought. "Well, he's not bad-looking," she mused, her tone thoughtful.

"Bandages?" Sakura ground out between her teeth.

She wondered if Hitomi had even checked before she listed off some details. Then she said it. "If you don't want him... do you think you could introduce us?"

The pen poked through the page, stabbing into the clipboard itself. Sakura pulled it out with too much vigour. Introduce Naruto to Hitomi? She didn't think so. "He's not that great," she told the other girl, trying to steer her away from the notion. "He's lazy, he's annoying, and he'll probably die early of high cholesterol levels from all that ramen he eats."

Neither of them were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Hitomi was a pretty girl, Sakura noted vaguely. But Naruto wouldn't like someone like her. He wouldn't.

"What else can you tell me?" Hitomi's voice was a little shy.

Ink spilled over Sakura's hand as the pen snapped. She was irritated with herself for getting so worked up over something like this. It was her fault, she knew. She shouldn't have given Hitomi that impression – but it was so hard admitting that Naruto was her... boyfriend. Her cheeks reddened at the prospect of it. Sakura was shy of admitting that she was _anyone_'_s _girlfriend.

Thankfully, she didn't need to answer. "Oh, looks like we're finished here." She showed Hitomi the ink-spattered checklist. "You wouldn't mind handing this to the front office, would you?"

Hitomi just blinked. "Sure..."

"Thanks." Sakura practically stalked out of the room and grabbed Naruto by the hand. "Let's go, Naruto," she said stiffly.

"Huh?" Naruto was dazed. He was a little wary of the look on Sakura's face. It was usually the last thing he saw each time he woke up in the rubble of what had been a wall.

Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura could see Hitomi's curious face. She sighed. Naruto was such a bad actor. She slowed down and smiled at him. She knew exactly what would have him speeding out of the hospital in record time. "We have a date to go to, remember?"

Naruto's face lit up with a bright grin. He was so predictable.

The adrenaline from the conversation with Hitomi ebbed away as they headed toward the ramen stand. Sakura scowled, remembering how short-tempered she had been. It wasn't like her to lose her head over something like that. And over Naruto, of all people. It made her want to rage at something.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked tentatively. She realised that she hadn't let go of his hand yet. He was warm, though, so she let them remain intertwined. Naruto swung the link lightly as they walked.

"What?" It came out as an unhappy growl.

"Were you... jealous?"

"Was I... what are you on about? What am I-" Her voice broke off with a wince of realisation. "You weren't eavesdropping, were you?" she demanded dangerously. If Naruto had heard _any_ of that...

"I didn't, Sakura, I swear!" The look of horror on his face told her all she needed to know. Naruto really was a very bad actor.

"Then how would you know I was... I _might_ be jealous?"

His smile was sheepish. "I've seen Ino chasing Shikamaru around before."

That was enough of a legitimate reason that Sakura left him. For someone so casual about relationships, Ino was unbelievably sensitive when it came to 'her man'. Sakura refused to believe that she had picked up Ino's ridiculous convention.

"You know, Sakura," Naruto was saying again.

She didn't know when she had nestled against Naruto's arm. She just knew that he was warm and comfortable. "What now?" she said softly.

He squeezed her hand and gave her that stupid grin. "You really don't need to fight for something that's already yours."


	9. Mad

_Mad_

"How long are you going to stare at me?"

He shuffled over so that he was sitting on the window with his back to her. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"But I'm not."

"Were you asleep those other times?"

Shrugging, Sakura sat up. She wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knee. "No," she said.

"You're sneaky, Sakura." He looked over his shoulder at her. In the light of the moon, he could make out the dark rings under her eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, he was sitting beside her on the bed, drawn into himself, uncertain if she would let him touch her. "Why didn't you sleep?" he asked her.

"Why didn't you?"

Naruto closed his own tired eyes and let his head fall back to the wall. "Dunno. Guess I couldn't. Or didn't want to."

"_You_ wouldn't want to sleep?" Sakura found it ridiculous. She chortled under her breath.

"Hey, I can go a few days on a couple hours of sleep," he defended.

With lack of another topic to discuss, silence cloaked them. Neither seemed to find it awkward. After a while, Sakura nudged him. "How many hours did you get?"

"Me? Uh..." Naruto counted on his fingers. "Five, I think. What about you?"

"Four and a half. Beat you."

"You need your beauty sleep, Sakura. You won't be pretty with bags under your eyes." In any other occasion, he would be steeling himself for a hard fist to the gut. But tonight Sakura didn't even raise a finger. She just sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What were we fighting over again?"

He wrapped an arm around her and settled the blanket firmly over her shoulders. "I can't really remember. You're the one with the freaky good memory."

"I can't remember either." She didn't even want to think about it. "Let's just say it's your fault by default."

"Does it _have_ to be me?" Naruto protested. He felt Sakura shrug. But he had already accepted it. He would have given a limb for this to be over. He stroked Sakura's hair. "You didn't talk to me for two days," he murmured.

"Sorry. You weren't speaking to me either."

"I was only thinking for my safety. You know, with your monstrous strength and everything..."

Sakura pinched him, though not nearly as hard as she usually did. Wincing, he pulled her closer to him. She didn't resist. "I missed you, baka," she whispered.

"Yeah," he whispered back. "Me too. I couldn't sleep while you were still mad with me."

"So is everything alright now?" She wanted it to be. Arguments rocked their relationship, but Ino often told her that all relationships were built on the foundations of conflict. But it didn't mean Sakura had to enjoy them. It hurt to see the anger and hurt in his eyes and know that she had caused it.

"Let's just say it is, okay?"

"Okay."

Naruto smiled and kissed the top of Sakura's head. "There we go. All better."

"You idiot," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "We're going to get some sleep tonight, right?"

"Of course. Unless you're still mad at me. But you wouldn't be mad at me, Sakura. You love me, don't you?" She could hear the silly grin in his voice.

"Oh, zip it." It wasn't like she had to tell him she loved him out loud. She would never date a guy who needed such assurance on a daily basis.

They lay down on Sakura's bed, drawing the blanket over them. Naruto put his arms around her. "I don't remember saying you could stay over," she pointed out.

He nuzzled her. "But you didn't say no, did you?" Sakura just pinched him halfheartedly. He was glad to be holding her again, talking to her again. It felt weird to be apart from her. It was worse than going a week without ramen. "Sakura?" he murmured.

"Hmm?" She was starting to get drowsy already, and she tucked her head under Naruto's chin, breathing in his scent.

"Did you ever think about not forgiving me?"

She didn't even have to think about it, though some small voice in her mind told her she should. She ignored it. This was her life, her Naruto, and she made her own decisions. "Baka. Why do you think I left the window open for you every night?"

"Because you love me?" he guessed cheekily.

Sakura didn't say anything for a moment. Abruptly, Naruto felt himself being shoved off the bed and onto the floor. He groaned. Why hadn't he seen that coming? He glared at Sakura's face as she leaned over the edge, smiling sweetly.

"Goodnight, Naruto."

* * *

Inspired by the song 'Mad' by Ne-Yo.


	10. Believe

_Believe_

It hurts when no one believes you.

They look at you like you're crazy, then they laugh and walk away. Either that or they get mad at you. It's because you are a child, and children don't know anything. Not to mention that you are _that_ child, the one who bears the marks of a demon.

They don't believe you. They _won't_ believe you. Sometimes you know that they check to see if there really is a ball stuck in the tree and if the boys you had been trying to play with were recklessly trying to retrieve it – but they never thank you or let you know that they, for a brief moment, believed you. You'll never play with those boys again, because the next time the ball gets stuck in the tree, you're sure no one will believe you.

No one thinks you can become Hokage. You can climb to the top of the Hokage Monument and scream out your dream for the world to hear, but you haven't done that for a long time, because you know that it will only earn you disapproval and a sharp rebuke from the Hokage. You know that, if your legs don't carry you fast enough, Iruka-sensei or ANBU will catch up to you, and you'll get in trouble for believing in yourself.

Even when you've grown up and formed bonds with your classmates, they don't believe you when you stand your ground against the enemy and tell them that you will beat them, believe it. In the end, you do emerge victorious, not counting the broken bones and the other injuries. Your friends will shake their heads and grin and tell everyone 'that's Naruto for you'. But even if they can throw you their confidence, even their lives, the next time, they still didn't believe you the first time.

That's why you feel tears stinging your eyes when you grin and tell her you love her, and she smiles and lets you hold her hand – and she says, "I believe you."

* * *

Wow, this one has got to be the... drabbliest of the collection so far. I have no idea where this came from. First it was an idea for Bleach, and then it turned into a NaruSaku one in ten minutes! It just attacked me when I was trying to do my homework. Quadratic equations must be very inspiring...

Oh yes, just a note. The Hokage bit was intended to be seen from a younger Naruto's point of view. Of course, we know now that people think he has a chance at Hokage. I think Iruka might have believed him, but that wouldn't stop him from giving Naruto detention, would he? Hmm, the last sentence seems a bit icky... maybe it's too long. What do you guys think?


	11. Pregnant

_Pregnant_

Naruto bounded across the rooftops, frowning. He hated it when he was approached by random person with a message that Sakura was waiting for him and where; it was almost guaranteed that by the time he was informed, he was already late.

As it turned out, he was.

She immediately grabbed him by the collar and viciously yanked him toward her before he even got an apology stammered out. "You," she said coldly.

He gulped and raised his hands in a sign of peace and surrender. "Ne, ne, Sakura, I was only-"

"You will be taking responsibility, won't you?"

"F-for what?"

Her eyes widened and she suddenly released him, as if she had just remembered something, and started regulating her breathing. She had her back to him and all Naruto could do was hover anxiously behind her, fingers lacing nervously together. She was silent for a long time. It was killing him.

"Um… Sakura-chan?" he asked in a frightened whisper. "Is everything… okay?"

"No," she growled, making him recoil. "Everything is _not_ okay."

He hadn't seen her this mad since that time she had caught him in the book shop with reservations for a special edition _Icha Icha_ volume.

She took a deep shuddering breath that reminded Naruto of occasions where he would consequently be decked by a solid fist. He was almost tempted to turn and run when she cursed and started wringing her shirt, a habit she had developed to portrayed how annoyed she was. "Okay, I can't do this," she said finally. "Naruto, hold me."

"Uh…"

"Just do it!" she snapped.

He hastened to oblige. His arms snaked behind her and encircled her waist. Almost immediately, she relaxed and leaned against him, burrowing her face into his neck. Despite his confusion, Naruto found himself smiling with content, and rested his chin gently on the top of her head. For a few minutes, they just swayed lightly on the spot. Hell, he could almost forget that anything had happened.

Then she dropped the bombshell.

"I'm pregnant."

He stiffened. No, he _froze_. His breath caught in his chest and if not for his demon tenant, he might have forgotten how to inhale. They had stopped swaying.

"Oh," he ended up whispering.

She frowned. "Is that an oh as in 'Oh damn, what are we going to do about it?' or an oh as in 'Oh, this will be great,'?"

"Oh as in 'Oh, congratulations'."

She tugged his arms away and turned around to stare at him. "_What?_"

He shrugged, smiling weakly. "I get it, Sakura. I understand. And really, I'm happy for you." Maybe it _did_ matter that he was a demon container. He felt... betrayed.

"What are you on about?"

He returned her stare, and then turned away. "We haven't been together long enough for it to be steady, huh? I thought… but it seems like…" He shook his head sadly. "So who is it?" Who had also held her, kissed her, told her they loved her?

"Who is _who?_" Sakura asked back, brow furrowing.

"Geez, Sakura, I'm not that fragile. Just tell me; I swear I won't kill him."

"Tell you _what_?"

He realised the grinding sound was coming from him and slackened his jaw, sighing. She was making this more difficult than it already was. "You know what I'm talking about."

"No I don't." Her jade eyes were fierce.

"The father! Who's the kid's father?" he practically shouted in chagrin. His chest was heaving like he had just run ten laps around the Fire country.

She stared at him like he had just sprouted a tenth tail. Then she took a step back, shaking her head. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, _no_!"

"No what?" he mumbled miserably.

"Naruto… you…" Sakura covered her face with her hand and groaned. "God, you are such an _idiot_!"

He blinked in confusion. "What?"

"You thought… the baby is _yours_, baka!"

Time froze. Everything – the whistling of the wind, rustling of the leaves, distant bustle of the village – everything tuned out. All he saw was her, and his eyes grew even wider. She had lowered her head. He reached out and gently tipped her face up so that they could lock gazes.

"Is it really…?" he murmured.

She bit her lip, and then nodded. "It's ours," she confirmed softly.

For a moment, Naruto was overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions that stampeded into his mind. His chest felt very compacted. "But I thought… we only did it once…"

Sakura blushed. "You."

"Pardon?"

"You," she repeated, gazing deep into his cerulean eyes. "You were my first, the only one I… yeah." Inhale. Exhale. _Remember to breathe, Haruno._ "It's yours, Uzumaki Naruto. I… I wouldn't let it be anyone else's."

"… Oh."

Expressions twisted into a familiar scowl. "What does that mean now?"

"Oh."

"Oh _what_?"

He folded her into his arms and kissed her forehead, his eyes closed. "Oh I love you so much, Haruno Sakura."

The creases on her face melted. "Baka," she whispered.

"I know."

"I am so not ready for this."

"I know." He paused. "You know something, Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"This is gonna be a real blast."

She hit him.

* * *

This was one of the earlier drabbles I wrote that has been sitting in my computer for a while now. I thought I'd upload it now so I would be able to write family drabbles if I ever have any inspiration. It'd be rather weird if Naruto and Sakura had a kid, then ten drabbles later Sakura is pregnant with her first child.


	12. Watermelon

_Watermelon_

"... So how am I supposed to hold it?"

"You just... no, your arm has to go under – like this..."

"Huh?"

"The head, Naruto. You have to support the head."

Yamanaka Ino rolled her eyes. 'It doesn't have a head', she was tempted to point out, but she didn't think the couple would hear her. They were so engrossed over the correct baby-handling position that she doubted they would notice if she walked out the door. It made her question exactly why she hadn't left already... no, it made her question why she was even _here_.

_Note to self: turn and walk the other way the next time you see Forehead struggling with groceries._ It wasn't like she'd _wanted_ to help her friend; she had just felt sorry for Sakura, that was all – being pregnant and everything. Sakura had simply invited her for dinner and Ino had accepted. It wasn't like she had anything better to do...

She just hadn't expected the innocent offer to escalate into _this._

How could she not have seen this coming? She must be outrageously blind! After all, Sakura could be unbelievably _stupid_ sometimes, and Naruto was... well, Naruto.

Ino watched her two friends juggle the watermelon between them. A _watermelon_. Naruto was treating it with utmost care, absently rocking it gently even as he leaned over and asked Sakura's barely noticeable bump if it 'liked Daddy holding it like that'. Sakura laughed softly and pushed him away. If she didn't know better, Ino would not think that anything had changed between the two. They were still so... normal. But Ino wasn't a kunoichi for nothing, and she could see something different in the way Sakura's eyes twinkled when Naruto spoke gibberish to her stomach.

It was rather cute to watch.

Fingering a strand of blonde hair, Ino absentmindedly wondered if she would ever be like Sakura. Probably not. There was no other person like Naruto. Her childhood friend actually looked happy nestled against the village pariah's side, with a watermelon sitting in their laps.

"Ne, Sakura, do you want it to be a boy or a girl?"

And off they went again. Ino could not believe that Forehead could be so... un-Forehead-like. Sakura should be smacking Naruto's head and telling him off like she usually did, but she dived into a deep discussion of both genders with all too much enthusiasm.

Ino wasn't bitter – of course she wasn't. It didn't matter that Sakura had someone else who saw her as important, and it certainly didn't matter that Sakura was happy and she wasn't. Sakura was the one about to grow into a planet, not her.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said sweetly. She knew it; their heads came up in surprise, as if they had forgotten she was there at all. Ino gestured vaguely at the watermelon. "I might eat that if you don't hurry up and make dinner."

Naruto looked horrified and cradled his 'child' to his chest. At least Sakura finally seemed to see sense. She slapped his arm playfully and got to her feet. "Sorry, Ino," she smiled. "We got a bit carried away." Naruto instantly abandoned the watermelon and rose to follow her.

Ino just smiled back. What else could she do? Her best friend was happy.

"Mou, Naruto, you're standing too close!"

"How about you sit back down and talk with Ino, ne, Sakura? Let me cook dinner."

"Would you stop treating me like I'm useless? It's not like I can't cook or anything."

"I didn't say that! It's just that I think I can cook better than you..."

"... What are you trying to say, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Ah, Sakura – ow! Not the ears!"

Ino sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. This was going to take a while.

* * *

A/N: I've been wanting to write a drabble from Ino's view for a while now. You can still have NaruSakuness from an onlooker's point of view!

Yes, a small continuation from Pregnant, if you want to think about it that way. I got the idea of the watermelon from that anime episode where Naruto ran off to find Jiraiya the 'perfect shape', and came back with a watermelon...


	13. Naughty

_Naughty_

"Why are we doing the dishes again, Dad?"

"Because Mummy had a busy day at the hospital and she's tired. So we're going to be good and do the dishes today, okay, Ren?"

"But I don't wanna-"

"I'll take you out for ramen later, how 'bout that?"

"... Let's do the dishes, Dad."

"That's my girl."

"Hey Dad?"

"Mm?"

"Are you strong?"

"Well, duh! I'm the Hokage!"

"Uh huh... so you'll teach me how to be strong, right?"

"Oi, there's no easy way out of it, Uzumaki Ren. You just gotta work hard, that's all."

"But that's boring!"

"Yeah, it is. That's life, kiddo."

"Damn it... but Kira's dad teaches him stuff."

"Well, that's just Neji. And I tried to teach you my Shadow Clone Jutsu, didn't I? It's not my fault you gave up halfway – hey, no kicking Daddy's shins. And don't you go falling for Kira, Ren. Those Hyuuga guys are more boring than Iruka-sensei's lectures."

"... Wow, that's really boring."

"Yep. But don't tell them I said that."

"Okay, Dad."

"Hmm, you don't have a crush on anyone, do you, Ren?"

"What?! _Dad!_"

"... It's not Nara Arata, is it? Because I swear-"

"Daaaaad! I don't have a crush on _anyone_!"

"Aww, Renny's blushing! Don't worry, sweetie, Daddy believes you."

"Hmph."

"... It's not Chouji's kid, is it?"

"Dad! Mai's a _girl!"_

"... Oh... hey, it'd better not be Kiba's nephew – what's his name again?"

"You mean Haru?"

"The one in his last year? Yeah, him. I know he's nice and smart and all, but I don't want you hanging around with big kids, okay, Ren?"

"Dad! I'm nine years old – I can take care of myself."

"No you can't. Now just listen to me and you'll never go wrong – don't go falling in love already, you hear?"

"... What about Hoshimaru?"

"That's fine, I – wait. Who's Hoshimaru?"

"Haru's dog. He's really cute and-"

"What – NO!"

"Ow, don't need to shout, Dad..."

"Sorry, honey. But no dogs, no boys, no _nothing_."

"What about Mum?"

"Mum is alright, I guess."

"Hah! Finally!"

"... No wait, no. She's mine."

"Aww, Dad! Can't we share Mum together?"

"No; Sakura's allllll mine."

"Daaaaaaad!"

"Nuh uh. No deal, Ren. Go get your own."

"But you just said... hah!"

"... What's so funny?"

"You just wanna do _naughty stuff_ with Mum, don't you, Dad?"

"I-I _what_?! You-_naughty _... Kakashi taught you that, didn't he? Didn't he?!"

"Uhh... no? I fell over a loose floorboard in your room last week and there were all these books inside. Why were you hiding books in the floor, Dad?"

"... They weren't orange, were they?"

"Yeah! Like the colour of my shirt, see!"

"Shit."

"Muuuum! Daddy said a naughty word!"

"No! Bad Ren! Quiet down! Sakura will ki – I mean, Mummy's sleeping!"

"Muuuuuuuuum!"

"Ren Uzumaki! If you don't zip it right now I'm not going to take you down to Ichiraku's."

"Muu – no! Dad, I wanna go! I wanna go!"

"Then promise me you won't tell Mummy anything about the little orange books you found. And promise you won't mention anything – _anything – _about what you saw inside them."

"I... promise."

"Good Ren. And next time, don't read them without my supervision."

* * *

I think of the weirdest things in the shower, I know. Yes, a dialogue drabble. I was a bit lazy and felt like trying out something new.

Some of you may remember Ren from my oneshot Only Part Time. I thought I'd just use her again since she was just conveniently there. Not quite as fluffy as the other drabbles, but I guess not all of them can be packed with lovey-dovey. I think I'm starting to like Ren all over again...


	14. Pervert

_Pervert_

If Naruto had been paying proper attention, he would have observed that Sakura's hand was cool and soothing against his chest, and that her stable chakra tickled his senses, sending a stream of pins and needles to his nerves. 'If' was the keyword here, of course.

He'd never seen the need for the full body checkups Sakura ran on him, but he liked to know that she dedicated those hours to his wellbeing, and only him. Besides, she was always gentle with her probes and it was quite amusing to witness her entering the strict medic-nin mode.

Today was arguably the best session he'd had so far.

Naruto was seated on a hospital bed, obediently keeping still while Sakura monitored his heartbeat and noted any (nonexistent) irregular spikes. Although she had her own stool, she had positioned a knee on the bed, between her patient's legs, to support her weight as she leaned forward. It meant Naruto had a very good view of her chest. _My grin isn't lecherous _at all_, _he thought confidently, nodding.

Kiba had once asked him if he found Sakura's breasts to be... unsatisfactory. After all, up against the Hinata's voluptuous curves and Ino's mature figure, Sakura was almost seen as a child. But Naruto thought she was perfect. He didn't want his Sakura to be a replica of others; he loved her for who she was, not what she wasn't. In light of her acceptance to his tenant, he was only repaying the favour.

"Naruto," Sakura frowned presently. "Your heart is speeding up."

"Is it?" he murmured vaguely, the goofy smile inching wider as she shifted her position.

There was a pause, and then Sakura pulled away, returning to her seat. Naruto's shoulders drooped a little, disappointed. It wasn't until he raised his head that he realised she had been looking at him. He cocked his head in question. In response, she extended her arm, reaching toward him. Naruto mentally cringed. Had she noticed...?

But she only picked up the small white box she had left on the bed. A relieved sigh whistled out between Naruto's lips. It quickly became an alarmed hiss as Sakura craftily picked out a needle. _Oh boy... what's she going to do with that? Is it some sort of truth serum? She'd better not ask where I hid my Icha Icha books!_

Noticing her companion's distress, Sakura touched his knee and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry; it's just something to help with your cholesterol levels. You've been eating too much ramen." Naruto knew from experience that Sakura should _never_ sound innocent. It generally meant bad news. For him.

"A-ah," he finally managed, along with a shaky smile. Swallowing, he looked away from Sakura's rather smug expression. "Where do you, um, want this?"

"This?" She casually flicked the tip, grinning mercilessly. Damn, she looked alluring even when she was about to stab her beloved. "In your butt."

Naruto paled. "There isn't much p-point, is there?" he stammered hurriedly. "I mean, the Fox's chakra will dissolve it in ten minutes."

Sakura simply gave him the patented Look; the one which glimmered with the threat to gut him, punch him into outer space, and drag him back by his entrails for another beating. Fearing for his safety, Naruto gulped and reluctantly rose to his feet, resignation settling in his stomach.

"Pants down."

"But Sakura-"

"_Now_, Naruto."

"... Yes ma'am."


	15. Presents

_Presents_

Haruno Sakura had grown used to associating late night calls with bad news. So, when she was woken by knocks at her door and saw that it was only half past two in the morning, she dragged herself out of bed with a sense of foreboding, wondering what it was this time – Sai to ask her about some other ridiculous emotion thing that had gotten him in trouble (again), or Kakashi-sensei with another collection of injuries that he had acquired on his latest mission. Or Naruto and his puppy dog eyes requesting half her bed because he was 'feeling lonely'.

_Actually, that's... not too bad..._ Sakura promptly smacked herself, horrified. This was all Naruto's fault. Him and his warmth and lovely arms... _Goddamn it! Out, impure thought! It's too early for this!_

She practically tore her door from its hinges when another round of impatient knocking ensued. "What?" she snapped, scowling.

Before she had even identified her visitor, a book was thrust so close to her face that she had to back up and almost tripped over her own feet.

"I have a lovely book that I think you would enjoy. I found it quite-"

"Tch. Sai, that's not how you do it. Step aside. Watch the pro."

Sakura blinked as the book was pulled away, replaced by Naruto's huge grin. "Happy birthday, Sakura-chan!" he said cheerfully, and swooped down to plant a kiss on her lips. She was mortified by her disappointment when he pulled away barely five seconds later, but when she factored in their just-off-the-ground relationship and Sai's presence, she supposed it was logical.

Sai smiled. "I see. I understand now. Happy birthday, Sakura." He stepped forward, but Naruto's hand slammed into his chest.

"Oi, I said watch, not copy."

Sakura sighed and covered her face with her hand, peeking between her fingers only when it seemed Sai had realised that his attempt to justify his actions was clearly not getting through to his blonde companion. She saw a hint of Sai's fake smile as he waved his book around. Which reminded her.

"I'm glad you two came to celebrate my birthday... but just so you know, the rest of the world usually does that _without waking the person up at the crack of dawn._" Sai glanced up at the dreary sky and opened his mouth. Without looking at him, Sakura said, "Yes, Sai, I know that it is technically earlier than the crack of dawn – which is even worse. It was a figure of speech. I do not need my eyes checked."

He smiled. "You are mistaken, Hag. I was actually going to remind Naruto that we are expected to leave in less than half an hour."

There was silence while Sakura digested this. Then she spun around and looked at Naruto. She didn't even need to ask him; he tripped over himself trying to explain. "Tsunade-baachan pulled me up an hour ago and said that Sai and I had an emergency mission to Marsh Country. I told her it was your birthday but you know the grandma..." Naruto didn't even look in her eyes. "I thought I'd give you my present before I left and Sai decided to tag along." He shot the artist an unhappy look – to which Sai merely smiled at.

Naruto looked so guilty that Sakura couldn't even find it in her to fume. It wasn't his fault; his duty had to come first. Why did he look so abashed anyway? She didn't think she was that tyrannical.

"Mou, I can spend the day with Ino," she said, and shrugged when Naruto's head came up hopefully. "It's just a birthday. There are lots more to come."

He grinned, nodding quickly. "You're so understanding, Sakura."

"It's just a birthday," she said again, quieter this time. Her smile seemed to reassure them, and she found that she really didn't mind. Spending time with her boys was good enough, even if Sai was as tactless as Naruto was clumsy. It was only around them that she could feel normal. _Or maybe it's just because they're weirder than most,_ she thought.

Shaking her head a little, she rubbed her hands and valiantly stifled a yawn. "So, let's see those presents."

As already revealed, Sai had gotten her a book. Sakura turned on her porch light so she could see the cover properly. Not that there was much to see. Just a pair of lips locked together. "It's a book on kissing," Sai said unnecessarily. At this, Naruto did a double-take and tried to look over Sakura's shoulder. "I think it will be very useful."

Not sure whether to laugh or smack him, Sakura just hugged him. He was stiff as ever, but at least he patted her back this time. He was learning. "Thanks, Sai."

She turned expectantly to Naruto. He slowly unzipped the front of his jacket and pulled out some sort of soft toy. Head cocked, Sakura lifted it from his hands and brought it to her face. It was about the size of a human's head and she could tell that it was handmade. It was clothed in orange, with a mangled tuft of yellow at the top, and a stitched smile that took up over half of the face.

"It's you," Sakura breathed.

He was behind her, arms circling her waist. "Just in case you miss me when I'm away. I didn't know I'd be getting this mission, but that's all good, ne? You can even take it to bed with you."

"It's ugly," she laughed.

Naruto pouted. "Hey, that thing took me all week. And I got poked by the needle a hundred times." She absently moved her hand to hold one of his although she knew that she would not find any evidence of the tiny wounds. "Do you like it?" he asked after a pause.

"Come closer and I'll tell you," she murmured.

He blinked for a moment, and then chuckled. He dipped his head forward and she leaned back into his chest. This time their lips met for much longer than five seconds. When they pulled away, Sakura whispered, "You'd better come back soon. And for God's sake, be _careful_."

He gave her the thumbs up. "Read Sai's book while I'm gone," he said mischievously. Then he grimaced.

Oh, right. Sai.

They both turned to see their friend holding Naruto's doll to the light. Sakura frowned, not recalling when he had taken it from her hands. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scrap of orange cloth in Sai's other hand. "Hey, is that...?"

Sai finally noticed the heavy looks settled on him. He raised the undressed doll, which was little more than an unrecognisable ball of cotton without its identifiable clothing. "It is missing something," he said disapprovingly.

It took only a few seconds for Sakura to catch on. She began rolling up her sleeves. She hoped the neighbours wouldn't mind if a shinobi crashed through their window and brought down their wall. Possibly several. "That is not something you talk about in front of a lady," she muttered, almost to herself.

Naruto frantically slid his hand across his neck, but Sai did not catch the signal.

"I call this... Dickless Junior!"


	16. Breakfast

Breakfast

"Good moooorning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped brightly.

The ruffled girl scrunched up her face and burrowed deeper into the wave of blankets, mumbling. "Go away."

Naruto wasn't having any of that. He continued to shake her by the shoulders and when the simple tactic failed, he pulled out his ace card – singing corny love songs shrilly at the top of his voice. Then, watching from the corner of his eye as he forced his voice into a crappy soprano, he began to count.

_One... two..._

A pillow hit him in the face and he found himself looking at an exasperated Sakura. "Alright, alright! Enough with the singing!" she said loudly.

Naruto grinned; it worked every time. He didn't even need to learn more than two songs, Sakura gave in before the first one even finished. And an added bonus – she was usually so embarrassed that it hardly occurred to her that punishment for his boldness was in order.

When he pretended to ignore her she rolled her eyes and reached over to slap her hands over his cheeks, holding his head as she asked, "Have you run out of toothpaste?"

He shook his head.

"Left your jacket here?"

Another negative.

"Have I been summoned?"

A nod.

"Really?"

Shook his head.

Sakura looked at him for a full minute, jade eyes slowly narrowing. Then she shook her head and released him, retreating back into the warm blankets. It was a frosty winter's day. "Then why are you over at my place so early? It's my day off; I wanted to sleep in." Not that she sounded too upset.

Naruto sprang up at his cue. "I bought you breakfast!" he answered enthusiastically. "Breakfast in bed. Ain't it romantic?"

Sakura quietly admitted it was – only because she knew he would not proceed on any other reply, not because she thought it was sweet of him, she told herself. "So what is there?" she asked.

He ducked down and came up with a cup of instant ramen, smiling widely.

"You eat too much ramen," she said disapprovingly.

To her surprise, his smile did not falter. "I knew you'd say that. So I came prepared..." His head bobbed down again, and Sakura looked curiously over the edge of her bed to see him rummaging through a... very big sack. "We've got... sushi, donburi, natto, dango, congee, takoyaki, unagi, my awesome onigiri, sashimi..."

Sakura simply stared as her bedroom floor was gradually invaded. She didn't even want to know how everything had fit in that bag, let alone remain unspoilt. Her eyes only continued to widen as Naruto produced more dishes – he had _ice cream_. By the time he had – impossibly – exhausted his stock, she was beginning to think that she was dreaming.

"And... to drink?" she asked weakly.

He beamed. "I'm glad you asked! Sake, sweet tea..." And off he went again. When he had laid every single beverage available on the market, he looked up and smiled at Sakura's awed expression. "So what do you want?"

"... You can't possibly expect me to choose from _that_!" But even as she said that she saw the major flaw in her argument: this was _Naruto_. "Anything else?" she asked dryly, and smacked herself when his face lit up. "No-"

"Ya got me!"

She stopped. "You shouldn't even be on the menu," she pointed out.

He just grinned at her.

After a while, she glanced at her alarm clock. "It's five. In the morning," she said flatly. She wasn't even in the mood for breakfast. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep...

"So are you going to choose now, Sakura?"

Sleep sounded good... and damn, it was cold. Naruto's face had been lovely and warm...

She grabbed him by the collar. "Get in before I change my mind."

Naruto grinned as he dismissed his transformed clones.

Mission: success.


	17. Will You Marry Me?

I'm going through a really busy week at school with subject selections, and Precious People is coming together too slowly. Since I didn't want to rush the chapter and produce bad work, I thought I'd satisfy some drabble plot bunnies in the meantime.

Oh, one more thing - this is a drabble set in the modern world; a modern AU. It was the only setting I could fit the idea into.

* * *

Will You Marry Me?

She was feeling horribly self-conscious. The light was too bright, trained directly on her. _'It's your moment to shine, Forehead,"_ Ino had whispered in her ear earlier that day. Stupid Ino. Sakura mentally ran over the many things she could be doing right now. _My geography assignment is due tomorrow, damn it!_

Movement caught her eye. Across the velvet-lined table Naruto was skimming over a menu. She had almost forgotten he was there; his dark suit melded into the shadows that fell outside the spotlight's focus. He looked quite stunning in that suit, she had to admit. He was vaguely unrecognisable – he looked so mature in Yamato-sensei's clothes! Somewhere in the back of her mind Sakura wondered if she was supposed to say something now; the silence was starting to get unnerving.

Her finger played with a loose thread on the edge of the tablecloth and she bit her lip. She hated this. On second thought, Ino's portion of blame was five times smaller than Naruto's. Looking bluntly at him, Sakura wondered if she could kick him and get away with the excuse that he was reading the menu upside-down. Probably not; Ino was bound to be watching.

Although she had been expecting it, Sakura still blinked when Naruto rose ungracefully from his seat, narrowly saved his chair from toppling over, and smiled, "I need to use the washroom." His low voice made her shiver. And seriously – _washroom?_ She was never going to be able to look at him the same way again.

How had she let herself be convinced? All he'd said was something along the lines of '_You don't want anyone else kissing your boyfriend now, do you, Sakura?'_ along with that goofy grin of his, and she'd caved. How pathetic. Ino had spent all week wooing her and nothing she had said – "It's the last term! Try something new for a change, girl! Help out a friend in need? Pleeeeaaase?" – had produced the same effect as Naruto's words.

Sakura absently picked up Naruto's menu and pretended to read it. Instead of classy meals and costly prices, she found herself staring at notes on logarithms and a changing the base exercise on the opposite page. She wondered which poor student and sacrificed their homework paper for this. _They could have at least written the lines on it or something_, she thought to herself as she mentally tackled one of the questions.

She didn't get very far. The menu was soon tugged out of her grasp, replaced by a bouquet of flowers. Sakura simply stared at them for a minute, and then leaned forward to smell them. "They're... lovely," she said, turning to smile at Naruto, who was standing behind her chair. "Thank you."

He grinned – although she specifically remembered he was supposed to 'smile gently and understandingly' – and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Sakura sat straighter, but he had already pulled away. When it was evident that he was not going to sweep her off her feet, she frowned. That... was it? The kiss? She didn't even try to hide her glare. _You lying, manipulating, scheming-_

Naruto got down on one knee.

- _horrible, cheap, sly –_

"Will you marry me?"

_- stupid,_ _romantic – _Sakura reeled back in surprise, almost falling off her chair. He was staring at her so intensely, head cocked. There was a small red box in his hand; there was something shiny in it, but she didn't think to look.

"Wh-What?" she stammered.

"Will you marry me?" There was some sort of amusement in his tone that she did not like. But it was insignificant.

She shouldn't have looked in his eyes. It always took her forever to find her way out of them. What was she supposed to say? Her mind was blank. His hand was warm and large and squeezed hers gently.

"So what will it be, Sakura?"

Although she knew that she was supposed to _say something_, she slowly leaned forward, one hand finding its way into his hair. He smirked and parted his lips...

"_CUUUTT!"_

They jolted apart as the lights in the room came on, chasing away the shadows. In the empty stand, Ino was standing on a front-row seat, smacking her copy of the script against the back of the chair, grinning wildly. "You were supposed to say no, Billboard Brow! Follow the script!"

"Aww, but it's so much funner this way, Director!" Naruto called, pouting.

"That's not a word," Sakura mumbled, her face buried in his chest. Stage fright. Yes, that was it. What else could have compelled her to do such a ridiculous thing in front of half the year group? Definitely stage fright.

Sighing, Ino clapped her hands and pushed a disgruntled Shikamaru toward the staircase to the backstage. "Everyone back to your positions! Scene four, take eight, here we go!"


	18. The Best Way

Another update while my semi-writer's block for Precious People gnaws away at my brain...

And yes, I got the idea from D-Grayman.

* * *

_The Best Way_

Kakashi slowly ran a hand through his hair as he stared down at the slumbering boy half-hanging off the bed. How Naruto could sleep to three in the afternoon, he had no idea – but he did know that Sasuke and Sakura dearly wanted to strangle their teammate, and probably would have proceeded to do so had the jounin not stalled them by assuring that he would have Naruto at the bridge in fifteen minutes.

To think that Naruto had been later than _him_. Kakashi sighed. Maybe he was getting old.

"Naruto. Time to get up." Perhaps he had spoken too softly. Kakashi marked his page and tucked his orange book into his pouch, rolling up his sleeves. He shook his student, wisely avoiding the puddle of dribble. "Naruto... Na-ru-to."

He retreated, shaking his head. If only Sakura were here to scream into his ear...

Ah. That was it.

Kakashi backed up a few steps and cleared his throat. "Naruto, Sakura is getting married."

The two of them arrived at the bridge within three minutes, but it took twenty to prise the highly-distressed Naruto off Sakura, and a further half an hour for Kakashi to regain consciousness after the furious girl had knocked the living daylight out of him.

By that time Sasuke had recovered Tora the cat by himself, and was lobbying for a transfer.

* * *

How much longer did he have? Less than two minutes, he'd say. It was the end of the line for them if Naruto didn't wake up before then. He could hardly breathe properly – he'd hit his limit. The band of missing-nin knew it, too, and grinned as the dark tendrils inched away from their necks.

Shikamaru cursed under his breath. He had gone through all that trouble to round them up – he was _not_ going to die here. Asuma would never let him hear the end of it when they met in the afterlife. That was way too troublesome for his taste.

Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at the crumpled form of his friend. "Oi, Naruto." He spoke through his gritted teeth. His sweat tasted salty when he licked his cracked lips. "Naruto, snap out of it! You want to die here? I sure as hell don't!"

His outburst cost him and his voice dissolved in a fit of ragged coughs. The missing-nin to the left was already shuffling his feet and experimentally flexing his fingers. "You pal ain't much help, huh?" he taunted, and with reason.

"_Naruto!"_ Shikamaru's legs wouldn't move. "Get _up!_" He could see the dark liquid oozing from an unseen wound in Naruto's head, and his heart sank. Not good.

The last drops of his chakra were drained by his jutsu. This was it.

Shikamaru inhaled deeply, squeezed his eyes tightly shut, and yelled, "Sakura's father will be marrying her off tomorrow and you're not going to be able to do anything about it if you die here!"

The shadows wavered and slunk back to him. Gravel crunched beneath sandals. Low grumbles reached his ears.

Shikamaru choked on his next breath, wondering if the clouds would look any prettier if he died staring up at them.

"... RASENGAN!"

* * *

Someone was calling him.

"... ruto..."

The voice sounded familiar... very familiar. Why was it trying to wake him? Didn't it know he had only been asleep two hours? Or at least, it sure felt like two hours.

"Now would be a good time to wake up, Naruto."

He rolled onto his side, groping around for the pillow.

"Narutoooo." The voice sounded dangerous now. Oops, that wasn't a good sign...

He felt like he should be evacuating the building just in case it came crashing down on him, but he was too tired to move.

"Naruto." That lovely voice was now directly above him, speaking in a whisper. "I'm getting married."

_Oh, congratulations_, he thought subconsciously.

Wait. This voice...

"Sakura?!" He shot upright, narrowly missing her head. "Why are you getting married?!" he blubbered. The sky was falling. The world was ending. This couldn't be happening.

Looking satisfied, Sakura got off the bed and walked over to the cupboard. "Because," she said simply.

Naruto staggered over to her, grasping the hem of her glorious white dress. "But-but... but!"

"But?"

"But I love you!"

"Mm," she hummed, unperturbed. She pulled out a dark suit and brushed it off. "Go on, get dressed. I'll have your head if we're late. Seriously, of all the things you forget..."

Heartbroken, Naruto clutched the hanger and moped. "Who... who is it? Who are you marrying?" he demanded. He'd skin the bastard. No one claimed _his_ Sakura. No one.

She looked at him, amused. He was really panicking over her. She smiled. "The world's biggest idiot," she replied, and giggled when his brow pulled together.

Or maybe she was the idiot for praying that he would never change.


	19. Typical

_Typical_

The Uzumaki household had abruptly gone silent. The ANBU stationed outside the Hokage's estate was concerned. Had an enemy infiltrated the village and harmed their leader? But the ANBU had been sitting on the job for the past five hours and not a single tile had been disturbed during his watch. Besides, he could sense chakra presences within those walls. They were familiar, but that was not to say that he was certain a genjutsu had not been cast.

Ten minutes. No – five. He would wait five minutes, and if he continued to feel that something was amiss, he would do a reconnaissance. His hand was already clenched around the hilt of his ninjato, prepared as any respectable ninja should be. His adrenaline was pumping. It was wrong of him to wish such a fate upon the Hokage, but this was his first mission since his initiation. He couldn't help it.

"_What do you mean Santa Claus isn't real?!_"

"Damn it, Sakura – you just _had_ to tell her!"

"Excuse me?! _Who _fell down the chimney? And you call yourself the Ho – now look what you've done! Shh, Ren, don't cry..."

"I w-wanted a new soccer ball for Christmas!"

"Don't you worry, Daddy will still get it for you."

"Naruto!"

"What? We just told her that I was Santa anyway."

"... _Daddy_ was Santa?"

"Oh... shit."

"_Uzumaki __Naruto._ Did you just swear in front of our innocent, six year old daughter?"

"Err, n-no...? Ow, ow, ow – ear's falling off! Sakuraaaaaaa! R-Renny – ack! – save me!"

"So... does the Easter bunny exist? I'll cry again if you say no..."

"... Easter bunny?"

"Uh huh! She's really nice and pretty and her chocolate eggs are always super-big!"

"Umm... Sakura, would you by any chance – ouch, my arm! It's breaking, I swear – ow – _it's breaking!"_

"Hey, I think someone just fell out of that tree. Look over there, Da... Daddy? Are you okay?"


	20. Teddy Bear

_Teddy Bear_

When Sakura had been a young child, it had been known in her neighbourhood that she was inseparable with a certain toy. Mr Smiles was brown, scruffy from years of cuddles, and Sakura's hero. He spilled none of her secrets, obligingly allowed her to bawl despairingly into his fur and uttered not a single word of complaint all the times she had squeezed the non-existent life out of his tiny body during thunderstorms.

Although Mr Smiles had long since retired to her chest of treasured belongings, the mere mention of her unhealthy attraction continued to mortify Sakura to the core.

Ino – curse her – knew this very well.

Presently, Sakura groaned into her drink and unsuccessfully tried to nurse her headache – of course, tugging at a fistful of hair whilst trying to imagine the strands as Yamanaka Ino's neck did not help much.

"So, Forehead… just what do you take to bed these days anyway? Since Mr Fluffhead's gone?"

Trying to control her voice as much she could, Sakura ground out, "The last time I checked, it wasn't your business."

Ino, adjusting her top over her seventh drink, did not seem to hear her. "Don't think it was Mr Fluffhead… Tenten, you know what that old bear was called?" The brown-haired girl shook her head. "Damn… Mr Staples…? Slippers? Aha – Mr Panties!"

Tenten met Sakura's eye, amusement lighting up her face. "She's drunk," she mouthed.

"Definitely," Sakura mouthed back. She should have known better than to agree to a 'girls night out'. _I should have followed Hinata out_, she thought regretfully. The Hyuuga heiress had hightailed out of there the moment it had struck midnight. Smart girl.

Ino had her head pillowed on her arms. "I 'member now," she mumbled groggily, slurring her words. "Mr Smut, it was. Yeah..." And she was asleep.

Sakura collapsed onto the table beside her blonde friend. "She gets drunk every single time, I swear. Unbelievable... ugh, we still have to get her home. Tenten..." Raising her head, she noticed the smirk on her friend's face and mentally recoiled. "Not you too!"

"What? I haven't even said anything," Tenten grinned.

"It's just a teddy bear!"

But her exasperated cry was lost as Tenten leaned forward. "Friends need to know this sort of stuff." Brown eyes flashed mischievously. "Do you think Naruto would be jealous if he found out about – what's the thing's name again?"

"Mr Smiles," Sakura grumbled, her statement quickly followed by a snort. "He wouldn't care less."

"Oh? Why not?" Judging from the way she leaned forward, Tenten was intrigued, and that was not a good sign. Sakura hesitated, wishing she had just kept her mouth shut.

"He... has his own... cuddly thing."

Tenten's eyebrow inched up with scepticism. Then she laughed. "You're still a horrible liar. But I have a mission tomorrow, so I'll corner you another day. Now…" She leaned over and slipped Ino's arm around her neck, shouldering her weight as she rose to her feet. "Come on, Drunken Beauty. Let's get you back to the castle."

Standing as well, Sakura made to help but Tenten just waved her off. "Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yep. I live closer to her." Just as Sakura was about to voice her gratitude, Tenten smirked and added, "You can grab the bill."

Later, on her way back to her apartment, Sakura decided that she was definitely going to follow Hinata's example next time. Hanging around friends like that at night and in a bar was mortifying enough for her to set a curfew for herself. Ino had somehow managed to push all her buttons even while drunk, going as far as to dig Mr Smiles out of the grave – and probably would have succeeded in dredging up more if the saké hadn't kicked in. If Ino ever managed to raise her tolerance to alcohol, she was doomed.

It was a chilly night, but the frosty wind wasn't the reason for Sakura's involuntary shudder. If her friends ever found out that she… Kami, even thinking about it was enough to make her want to sink into the ground.

Upon letting herself into her apartment, Sakura remembered that she had a pile of unwashed dishes waiting for her in the kitchen. They would haunt her the next morning if she didn't clear them away tonight, but Sakura was too tired to even change out of her clothes. Although she hadn't drank nearly as much as Ino the sake was already fogging up her mind, so she didn't think twice before dragging herself into her room and collapsing on the bed.

"Oof!"

"What the – for God's sake, Naruto!"

"Sakura…?" There was a pause as the figure in her bed rolled toward her direction, yawning. "Why did you sit on me?"

She narrowed her eyes in the dark. "And why are you in my bed?"

"I was waiting for you." The silhouette drowsily rubbed its eyes. "I cleaned your house and everything."

Sakura let out a sigh as she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. He had been doing that a lot lately, almost as frequently as every second day. He really needed another excuse, but she supposed that it was also her fault for letting him stay over every time it happened.

"Move over," she muttered, nudging Naruto's ribs. He was already beginning to fall back asleep but he managed to roll across to make space for her. She lay down with her back to her companion, yanking the covers over herself. Closing her eyes, she waited. But not for sleep.

Not even a minute later, Naruto turned and draped his arm over her, pulling her to his chest. He seemed not to notice the thick scent of alcohol clinging to her, for he tucked her head under his chin and nestled his face against her hair. Only when she could smell his familiar scent and feel his heart beating gently against her back could she release the day's tension and unwind.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan," he mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight."

Sakura would sooner wear Maito Gai's hideous spandex than admit that she liked being Naruto's Mrs Smiles.

* * *

A/N: I haven't been able to write enough to update anything lately, so I decided to finish a drabble that I'd started months ago. Teddies are wonderful, aren't they?

Just a minor detail, but I've recently become comfortable with using honorifics and there's always the urge to use them at certain points. It's mostly Naruto's 'Sakura-chan's. I'll go back and edit the earlier chapters later.


	21. Replacement

_Replacement_

Sometimes it sucked to have married the Rokudaime.

Sakura violently minced the beef, scowling out the window at the darkened sky. A sharp look towards the clock told her that it was nearly eight o'clock. She returned to staring at the Hokage Tower in the distance, her frown deepening.

As if he had sensed the heat of her glare, there was a knock on the front door. Sakura threw down the knife and raced to answer it. Naruto was waiting with a cheerful grin, his hair a mess and his cloak creased. Sakura's trained eye narrowed in disappointment.

"He wants to know if building an interactive zoo at the Academy would put the village's budget into deficit," the clone said.

Sakura would have smiled if she were in the mood, but as it were, she simply sighed. "Yes, it would. Tell him dinner's almost ready, will you?"

She went back to the kitchen after the clone had dissipated. Naruto was making a bad habit of this, sending his clones to ask her random questions. The eccentricity of his inquiries made it hard to tell if he meant to keep her company, or if he was actually in need of her guidance.

_Knock knock knock._ Sakura rolled her eyes. _Here we go again._

It was another clone. "What's for dinner?"

"Ramen."

"Really?!"

"You wish."

Another one was at the door in five minutes. "What's eight times nine?"

"Seventy-two. And what? He's still not coming home?"

"Erm, hang on, I'll ask him."

This time Sakura stood waiting by the door, arms crossed. Much to her annoyance Naruto sent a clone almost fifteen minutes later. She raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"After he's done feeding the goldfish, he says."

"Alright then."

Sakura hurried to finish preparing the meal before Naruto was home. She hummed as she finished chopping the last of the meat. Her face lit up when there was another knock.

A moment later, she cut the chopping board in two.

"Are goldfish supposed to float upside-" The clone had the tact to shut its mouth when it noticed Sakura's dark expression. "Um… Sakura-chan?"

"Tell him," she said sweetly, curling her fist, "to come home right _NOW_!"

The clone caught a fist to the mouth and was sent flying. It ricocheted off a lamppost before evaporating dejectedly.

Sometimes it helped to have married someone who knew the Hiraishin.

* * *

Phew, it's been a while since the last update. Hope you've all been well. To clarify, the Hiraishin is a technique developed by the Fourth Hokage that allows the user to instantly 'teleport' to a location marked by their seal. As you can imagine, Naruto puts this technique to good use.


	22. Wrong

Because there are as many wrongs as there are rights and that's how it's supposed to be.

* * *

_Wrong_

He didn't know what he'd done to upset her. His best guess was that it was in some astronomically profound way, for not once during their trek back to Konoha had Sakura broken from her perpetual frowning at the ground to hit or snap at him. Naruto supposed it was a good thing, but all that served to do was upset _him_.

"Hey," he called cautiously.

Sakura didn't look up, instead offering a mild "Hmm?"

Naruto released an anxious, expectant breath. She didn't _sound_ mad. He hitched up his backpack and bounded up to his teammate. "What is it?" Sakura said when he attempted to peer discretely at her expression.

"You're acting strange."

"I'm thinking."

"About what?"

"Never you mind."

"Are we there yet?"

"Sure."

"What? Really?"

"Nope."

Naruto slumped with a defeated pout. "Sakura-chan is so mean."

It took several moments of silence for him to realise that he was trudging along the dirt road alone. He looked back. Sakura had stopped where she was and was studying him with a mixture of curiosity and frustration. A dangerous combination, Naruto had learned. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

His voice pulled Sakura out of the daze. Realising, she gave her head a small shake and caught up. They continued on their way with the trend that had been going on since they left the daimyo's residence: Naruto falling behind to scrutinise something like a wilted plant by the side of the road, then catching up to quiz Sakura about it, who sometimes absentmindedly gave him incorrect answers that he didn't realise. It felt… weird.

Then, as Naruto contemplated the impeccable behaviour of the daimyo's dog compared to his wife's feisty cat and fantasised reasons why it had run away in the first place, Sakura realised what was wrong.

It was _awkward_.

Sakura let out a groan. It was so obvious! How had she let this happen? Naruto had grown much more sensitive of his surroundings over the years, to the point where he could be _awkward_. The fact that this awkwardness hovered in the air between them was what had thrown her off. And Sakura knew exactly when it had begun.

"Okay Naruto, stop," she said abruptly.

He obeyed instantly, like he had been waiting for it. "What'd I do?"

Sakura blinked. He was so quick to assume it was his fault. "Nothing… well, nothing _wrong._ I think. It's just… Why did you do that back there?"

She was met with a blank stare. "Do what?"

It was silly now that she thought about it. But it didn't change the fact that it bothered her.

Naruto leaned over in bemusement. "Do what?"

She clenched the hem of her skirt. "C-Call me… Sakura-san."

There was silence.

"… When did I say that?"

"You did!" Sakura's head came up so quickly it almost smashed Naruto's nose. "When you told the daimyo how I wouldn't let you feed his dog ramen!"

"Oh yeah, that was so mean of you, Sakura-chan! The poor guy looked so hungry!"

"You can't go feeding dogs that stuff!"

"Why not? It's nutritious. I grew up on that stuff and look how big I am!"

"You're not a dog!"

Sakura stood there, heaving with the hot-headed exasperation that had the tendency to fill her head whenever a certain hard-headed blonde was around. Watching Naruto grin, she had to remind herself that they had gone completely off topic. Like they always did.

"Well?" she prompted softly.

Naruto scratched his head. "Well… I thought it'd be more appropriate. We are talking to the lord of the country here."

She had to admit she was somewhat impressed and considerably amused. "Since when did you care about courtesy?"

He feigned hurt. "Ero-sennin and I did more than train our butts off."

"No doubt about it."

Naruto wisely decided not to bring up the bathhouses. "So… I shouldn't have called you that?"

"No, you were right. I just… don't like it," Sakura admitted. There. Sometimes, being honest with herself was harder than being honest to Naruto.

"Why not? Lee calls you Sakura-san and so do lots of other people."

"I know, I know." She didn't understand it either. "I just don't like it when you call me that, Naruto."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Sakura-san?"

She twitched. "It's weird," she glared. Then, eyes widening with realisation, she added, "It doesn't feel right."

Naruto was confused. "I don't get it."

"It's just weird. Like sticking hot chips in ice cream-"

"But it's yummy."

"- and 'grey' chocolate-"

"It's dark and white mixed together."

"- and it's like me calling you Naruto-kun."

Naruto paused to consider it. He used to wish that it was _Naruto_-kun instead of _Sasuke_-kun back when life was easy enough that honorifics mattered – but now it just made him pull an unpleasant face.

"That's awful, Sakura-san."

"Damn straight, Naruto-kun."

* * *

AN: How long as it been since I updated anything? Haha, I felt so bad I seized the inspiration that hit me last night instead of storing it away with the excuse that I'd get around to it sometime in the distant future. I am so rusty...

Also another heads up that I have a writing blog which will probably be the only sign of life from me for months. To everyone who has asked me if I'll be continuing _blah_ stop by my profile for the link.

Hope you guys had a good Easter!


	23. Mustard

_Mustard_

In their second year at the Academy, the teachers organised an outdoor barbeque at the park. The large lawn was flooded with excited children, long tables of food, and the mouth-watering aroma of kebabs. The Hokage even dropped by to have some punch and let some of the girls hold his infant grandson.

Sakura was prodding uncertainly at a cherubic sausage on the grill when Ami startled her from behind. She was balanced precariously on a brick ledge just to be able to see what she was cooking. Iruka-sensei had left her in charge of the sausages and, having tried to destroy some burnt evidence, Sakura was nervous enough without being shocked out of her skin by a low voice near her ear: "You have such a wide and beautiful forehead, Sakura…"

Eyes widening, Sakura turned and almost toppled off her perch. She somehow managed to catch herself and save the sausage she'd almost flipped into the air, but she promptly shrivelled in mortification when Ami shrieked with laughter. Iruka-sensei glanced in their direction, and Sakura tried to smile like she had everything under control. He gave her a thumbs up.

"Did you think Sasuke-kun would notice you?" Ami mocked in a sweet tone as she absently ran her finger along the row of sauce bottles on the bench beside the grill.

Sakura bit her lip. Ino had yet to return after chasing Chouji away from his sixth helping. Forcing a smile to her face, she asked in a quiet voice, "Do you want a hot dog, Ami?"

One look at her classmate's expression immediately made her wish she'd said nothing at all. Then, curiously, Ami's features twisted into something sly, something Sakura did not like and was helpless to do anything against when the other girl declared, "I'll make it myself."

Sakura hesitated. Ami cocked her brow expectantly. Dropping her head, Sakura climbed down and gave her spot to Ami. She saw Iruka-sensei's head turn again, but she couldn't look at him. He had entrusted the grill to her. It was her job. No one else's.

"Yuck, you burnt it," Ami said in disgust.

"I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled, miserable. She looked around for Ino. She thought she caught a glimpse of her friend trying to pull Chouji from behind Shikamaru, but was distracted when Ami ordered her to fetch a bun. The dark-haired girl dropped the charred piece of meat into the slit in the bread. Sakura stared glumly at it. Ino made it look so easy. _She_ didn't have any trouble cooking sausages that weren't difficult to distinguish from elongated coals.

"Mustard."

Blinking, Sakura looked up. "P-pardon?"

Ami looked annoyed. "I said, put some mustard on it."

"Oh." Looking around, Sakura reached for the bottle and squeezed the paste onto the sausage. The perfect squiggly pattern she had created left a grin of self-satisfaction on her face. This, she was good at.

"Tomato sauce."

Sakura looked up to check if she had heard right. Ami was watching her. Well, it _was_ her hot dog…

In spite of this fact, Sakura soon grew dubious of Ami's appetite. The girl rattled off an endless list of sauces and spices. "Mayonnaise. Salt. Sweet chilli sauce – no, you idiot, put more."

By the time they had worked through everything on the bench, the bun was soggy and sauce was dripping over the sides onto Sakura's fingers. Ami called her friends over to look at the masterpiece, and they all laughed loudly. Sakura shuffled uncomfortably as their snickers rang in her ears.

"Okay, now give that to Uzumaki."

Sakura lost interest in staring at the dirt beneath her sandals. "What?" she blurted.

Ami nodded to the soccer field, where some boys were organising a game. Uzumaki Naruto stood among the crowd, bouncing energetically on his heels as he waited to be picked for a team. "Naruto?" Sakura echoed. "Why?"

"I owe him," Ami said mysteriously. "Just go and give it to him, Billboard Brow."

Sakura looked down uncertainly at the saturated hot dog in her hands. Ami's friends kept urging her until the back of her legs were dusted with the dirt they kicked at her. Slowly, she made her way to the soccer group.

"Sakura…?" She passed Ino on the way, but she only bit her lip and kept going, not taking her eyes off Naruto's back. He was one of five boys left to be picked by the captains.

"Come on, I'm really good! Look at me – I'm all muscle!" he called with a wide grin on his face. He cursed dramatically when Kiba was picked next, and almost sent the hot dog flying when Sakura stopped behind him. "Oh – hi, Sakura-chan!" And he turned that big, bright smile to her. He never stopped smiling and interrupting the class. Strange boy.

"Sakura-chan?" Now he peered curiously at her, because she hadn't been able to mumble anything more than a soft "Hullo" in return.

He followed her guilty look down at the hot dog, which was now dripping multicoloured paste to the grass. She knew she had to say something then. "Um… Ami said to give this to you."

He looked at it for a long moment. Sakura grimaced as the paste oozed all over her fingers. He glanced over to the grill, where Ami and her friends were watching them, and muttered something under his breath. All Sakura could catch was "… being serious…" She wondered what Ami could possibly owe someone like Naruto.

Come to think of it… he _had_ knocked Ami's ice cream into her favourite dress last week. Sakura had witnessed the incident. She'd been about to round the corner when Naruto came running from nowhere and barrelled straight into Ami. All she'd thought about the ordeal was how lucky it was that _she_ hadn't been the one to be on the receiving end of Ami's furious shrieks. All Naruto had done was scratch his head sheepishly.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

"Huh?" She didn't let go of the hot dog when he reached for it. He gave her a questioning look.

"Isn't it for me?"

"Ye – no… I mean…" She lowered her head, not meeting his blue eyes. "You don't have to eat it," she mumbled. How had this happened? She was supposed to be in charge of the grill. It was her fault, wasn't it?

The boys had finished picking members and were running off to start the game. Leaving Naruto behind. She watched them set the ball in the centre of the field, perturbed, and thought she saw Naruto twitch.

She looked back at him, taking in the unfailing grin. She was a little taller than him, she realised. But he seemed bigger than her, stronger than her. She didn't know what to say. The words only came to her when he was already wolfing down the horrendous meal, thick sauce spilling down his chin. She winced when he gagged, but he didn't stop. Still, her lips refused to form the words, and all she could do was helplessly clench her fingers into tight fists.

"D-deli…cious!" Naruto gasped. His lips were swelling up and he was perspiring from every pore.

No matter how obvious her gestures, Naruto seemed completely oblivious to the mess he'd made of his face. Finally, hesitantly, Sakura held him still while she cleaned him up with a napkin.

"You didn't have to eat it," she said guiltily, hearing jeering laughter behind her back. She focused on rubbing a particularly stubborn spot of sauce on his warm cheek.

But Naruto shook his head. He was _still_ grinning. "No way. Sakura-chan made it especially for me, right? 'Course I had to eat it!"

She'd meant to apologise, to offer to tell Iruka-sensei. But when she looked at that invincibly bright expression, all she could do was smile wanly at his red, clammy face.

"Silly Naruto."


	24. Children

AN: This is something I wrote ages ago and only posted on H&E, back when the theme of the story was still Did I Tell You. For some reason I didn't put it up here. So here we have it.

* * *

_Children_

"Gum."

"No; 'pretty'."

"Gum."

"You make 'pink' sound like a compliment, Akiko."

The child tugged insistently on Sakura's hair as she tried to change the two year old's diaper. "Gum!"

"Gee," the jounin said wryly, "you _are_ Ino's kid after all. There – all done!" She picked up Akiko and sat her on the counter. Big blue eyes ogled her. Sakura resisted the urge to squeal "Kawaii!" and suffocate the adorable thing.

"Mama," Akiko said, frowning at her babysitter.

"She's still working, Akiko." Sakura casually made a clone to watch the child while she poked around the discarded toys in the kitchen's playpen. For some reason, she didn't think Nara Akiko should be allowed possession of a rattle; the kid was too enthusiastic. The fact that a jounin's shadow clone was having difficulties holding back a two year old child from crawling onto the nearest chair was enough supporting evidence.

"Look what I've got," Sakura said a moment later. Her clone disappeared with a relieved sigh as Akiko was handed back to her rightful temporary guardian.

"Dolly!" Akiko shrieked, grappling for the fluffy thing in Sakura's hand.

"Okay, okay," the pink-haired woman laughed, letting her have it. "I swear, you got more out of Ino's genes than you should have."

Akiko stopped harassing her toy at the mention of her mother's name. She stared at Sakura so intently that the jounin raised an eyebrow. Then she pointed at Sakura's face. "Not Mama."

"No, I'm not your mama," Sakura agreed. "I suppose the hair colour is a bit of a giveaway, huh?"

She realised shortly that she should not have mentioned the word 'hair'. The deer doll was promptly abandoned as Akiko resumed her previous interest. Sakura sighed as she gently tugged her long hair away from the curious mouth.

Akiko pouted. "Gum," she whined.

_Ino, you sooo owe me one._

"_I_ think your hair is pretty."

Sakura turned just as Akiko – _finally_ – abandoned chewing her hair in favour of greeting the newcomer. "'Rata!" she gurgled. "'Rata!"

"Hello, Arata," Sakura smiled. "Finished showering?"

"I don't think I cleaned myself properly," he answered. His height made him the perfect target for some Akiko hair-tugging, but he ignored it. Apparently, brother and sister went through this quite often. "I couldn't scrub my back because you weren't there, Sakura."

"I haven't done that since you were four," she chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be hitting the age where you start thinking that girls give you cooties soon. You won't like me so much after that."

"Yeah I will," he said stubbornly. "I'll like you no matter what."

Sakura relieved his hair of their spiky freedom as she picked up Akiko and deposited the child in the playpen. "That's sweet, Arata, but don't make promises you can't keep. Can you watch over your sister for me while I wash the dishes? Thanks."

He looked reluctant. "I want to help," he began, but his sister obviously had other ideas. "Ow! Aki, cut it out! _OW!_ Not the bangs, Aki! Not the bangs!"

Sakura smiled at the sight. Although he was five years her elder, Arata and Akiko made a cute sibling pair. They reminded her of their parents.

_To think that _Ino_ was the first to have kids_…

"I'll help."

She looked down. "Hmm? Oh, Arata." She chuckled. "Untangled yourself already? You need to teach me how to do that one day."

His cheeks flushed, but only for a moment. "I'll help," he said again, tugging the sponge out of her hand.

"It's alright. I can get it done a lot faster than you."

"Yeah," he answered. "But I don't want your hands to get all rough."

Sakura laughed and relented, wiping her hands on a paper towel. "Who taught you that line?"

"Your hands are so pretty everyone would want to keep them that way."

She chuckled. "Haha… you're _good_, Arata!"

He swelled. "Sakura?"

"Mm?" A quick glance ensured that, through the suffering of her surrounding toys, Akiko was kept happy and entertained.

"Do you like me?"

"Of course I like you." She ruffled his hair affectionately. "You're my best friend's son. I've watched you all your life. I love you."

Arata grinned widely. "That's good, 'cause I like you too."

"You cute little thing." Sakura leaned over a dropped a casual kiss on the top of his head, not noticing that the boy had turned a triumphant beetroot red. She looked over the counter at Akiko. "Hm, I'd better rescue Ino's flowers – even if they are fake." Just as she was about to walk away, a small hand grabbed hers and pulled her back. "Arata, what's wrong?"

He hesitated, and put on a convincing smile. "Why don't you marry me?"

She ruffled his hair. "You've been saying that since you were five, kid," she teased. "Haven't you found a nice girl at school yet?"

"I'm serious this time!"

After a short pause, she lowered herself to his eye level. "How serious?"

He fidgeted. "I-I really like you… Aki likes you too!"

"Mm hmm. And do you like Akiko, Arata?"

He was thrown by the question, but the genes of Shikamaru's brilliant mind had not yet awakened and Arata suspected nothing. "She keeps trying to eat my hair. And when I want to train Mom and Dad always makes me look after her. But… when she's not trying to be annoying she's alright. I guess."

"Then why don't you ask Akiko to marry you?"

"She's my sister!" he sputtered.

She raised an eyebrow. "And you think someone who is four times your age is much better?"

"Yes!" He tugged on her hand. "Marry me!"

"Persistent little thing, aren't you?" Sakura chuckled. She straightened, looking down at him. "Sorry, Arata, but I don't think your parents would approve."

"So?" he asked stubbornly. "I don't care what they think."

"Well, do you care about what the Hokage thinks? I doubt he would be very happy either."

For the first time, Arata's bravado faltered. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Um… did I tell you I have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. So?"

"My boyfriend happens to-" Sakura's head snapped around as she heard voices at the front door. It sounded like Shikamaru was home, accompanied by… She turned back to Arata and gave him a small smile. "We'll talk about this later. Look after your sister," she called over her shoulder.

He was in the lounge room. A bright smile split his face when he saw her leaning against the door frame. Shikamaru paused mid-report and glanced over. He rolled his eyes as Naruto gave him a pleading look. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. "You have my permission."

Naruto whooped and a moment later, Sakura found herself off the ground, held up by his strong arms, her hands resting on his shoulders. He lowered her slightly and nuzzled her cheek. "Sakura-chan!" he sang, eyes glittering. "Did you miss me?"

"No." But she was smiling.

He looked hurt. "No?" He set her carefully on her feet and gave her the puppy dog face. "And here I thought I'd pick you up…" Suddenly, he shot Shikamaru a horrified look. "You're not having an affair with _him_ while Ino's still working with Ibiki, are you? Sakura-chaaaaannn!"

"What? No!"

"Really?"

"Really."

That was cue enough for him to start licking his lips. "So…"

Sakura lowered her head to hide her blush. "Ask Shikamaru," she mumbled.

Naruto grinned. "Oi, Shikamaru! Clearance for level two?"

To his credit, Shikamaru actually had to think about it. Being a father had changed him in more ways than extra mutterings of more duties. "Whatever," he shrugged finally. "Not when Ino's here, though. She'll start complaining about how unromantic I am." But his friends weren't listening.

Too bad it only lasted a few seconds.

Naruto jerked away and started hopping on the spot. "_Ow_! Crap!_"_ Sakura blinked in surprise. She was quite certain that she hadn't bit his lip, let alone his foot. Her confusion was dissipated when Naruto looked down and glared. "What was that for, gaki?"

"Stupid blondie!" Arata shouted.

"What? What did you just call me?"

"I'll be the next Hokage, just you watch! Then Sakura will be mine!"

Naruto blinked and glanced at his girlfriend. "Huh?" But he was quickly distracted by a kick to the shins. "Arghh! _Shikamaru_!"

"Tch. So troublesome…"


	25. Indirect

_Indirect_

It had taken Asuma nearly three years to convince Chouji to go on a healthy food regime. It took one betrayed, territorial look from Naruto to undo everything.

"Sakura-chan!" whined Naruto. "How could you do that to me?"

His teammate rolled her eyes. "I don't see what the big deal is."

The blonde was aghast. "The big deal? You… you… k-k-ki – Chouji!" The larger boy blinked as Naruto suddenly rounded on him. His face was red, but not quite with anger. "How could _you_ do that to me? I trusted you! That was not cool, man!"

Chouji opened his mouth, but Sakura beat him to it. "Naruto. All I did was _take a bite of his watermelon._"

Sadly, that really was the truth.

He'd started off with apples at first, but they didn't last at all. Three bites and it was gone. Chouji didn't like that, so he went to the grocer's and bought himself a giant watermelon which he carried under his arm and cut slices from whenever he felt like it. The workout it was giving him was just an added bonus. It was a win-win situation. Well, it had been until he'd run into Sakura, who was starved after a long spar with Naruto. It had still been a win-win situation when Chouji had offered her a bitten slice of watermelon. Until Naruto went berserk and wailed like a child who'd lost his toy.

And now, here they were.

"Sakura-chan! You don't love me anymore!"

"What? Why do you think I – ugh, you know what? You're right. I don't."

Naruto practically fell at her feet. "But… but… Sakura-chan!"

Sakura crossed her arms and frowned down at him. Chouji noticed her cheeks assuming a similar shade to her hair. "You're being melodramatic. It's just watermelon."

"No! You k-k-k-kis-kis-"

"Kissed?" Chouji wondered.

"Yes!" Naruto cried, just as Sakura yelled a horrified, "What? No!"

Chouji was sorry he'd said anything.

"You kissed him!"

"Chouji-kun was just being nice and sharing watermelon with me!"

"But you took a bite where he'd already taken one!"

"So?"

"So you kissed him!"

"_What? _Naruto, I am seriously about to hit you. Listen: I. Did. Not. Kiss. Him."

Before Naruto could further argue his case, Chouji came up with the perfect solution. He tapped the other boy and held out the offending watermelon slice. "Want a bite too, Naruto?"

Naruto eyed the offering suspiciously. He should obliterate the thing for violating his Sakura-chan. But… it was such a hot day and he was soaked in sweat… and Sakura-chan's lips had… "Fine," he relented. "But I still don't trust you, Chouji. I still can't believe you… mm, this is good!"

"Biggest one in the store," Chouji couldn't help but boast.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Which store?"

In between directions and various food recommendations, the two boys eventually realised that Sakura had stalked off without a word, her face red.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called after her, confused. "Chouji, what'd I do?"

Chouji lifted a shoulder in a don't-look-at-me shrug.

"I don't get it…" Then Naruto paled. He stared bug-eyed at Chouji, then at the watermelon and back again, and finally dropped it as if burned. Chouji dived for it, ready to let loose at Naruto for wasting food, but the loud blonde was already halfway down the street. "Sakura-chan! I didn't kiss him, I swear! Sakuraaaaa!"

Chouji watched his friends squabble in the middle of Konoha's main street. He thoughtfully took another large bite out of the watermelon slice. He didn't understand those two, but at least the food was good. He was still going back to chips though.


	26. Sweet Sixteen

_Sweet Sixteen_

"_He's late!"_

_Sakura paced back and forth on the bridge, twitching more and more as the seconds ticked by. To think that Naruto was later than their sensei! Sakura was starting to wonder if he was going to show up at all. And on today of all days…_

_Biting her lip, Sakura snuck a look at Sasuke, who leaned against the rail tossing a small rock up and down. Even Kakashi, besides not being the last one to arrive, was giggling behind his book like it was any other day._

_Sakura sighed to herself, shoulders slumping. This sucked. If she'd known it would turn out this way, she wouldn't have gotten up early to practice reactions in front of the mirror._

"_Good morning, team!"_

_Sakura twitched, hands curling into hard fists. Shoulders trembling, she slowly turned around. "NA-RU-"_

"_Ack!"_

_Sakura stopped in her tracks, fist suspended en route. She blinked several times, and when the vision didn't fade, eventually focused on the flame dancing cheerfully in front of her nose. It took several moments for her to register that it was planted on a small, round and creamy… thing. Finally, her questioning gaze reached the blonde boy cowering behind the plate._

"_Uhh… happy birthday?" Naruto said uncertainly. Sakura just stared at him, mouth falling slightly open. None of the reactions she had practiced came to her, because this was the wrong timing, the wrong person._

_Naruto scratched the back of his head. He was _pretty sure_ it was Sakura's birthday, if the fantastically large scribble on his calendar was anything to go by. He peered over Sakura's shoulder to see Sasuke staring at the sloppy cake Naruto had spent all morning on. Kakashi closed his book, a dim 'oh, that's right' look emerging on his features._

_Right._

_Naruto put the cake even closer to Sakura's face, shaking her back to reality. "Make a wish!"_

"_O-Oh." A strange expression on her face, Sakura closed her eyes, wrinkled her brow in concentration, and then blew out the melting candle._

_At least Kakashi had the grace to clap in the background. Sakura began to smile._

_Naruto grinned. "Ne, ne, Sakura-chan, what kind of wish did you make?"_

_She looked at him like he was stupid. But he _had_ remembered, and he _had_ been kind of sweet about making her a cake… and maybe taking more initiative wasn't necessarily a bad thing._

_Naruto leaned in as Sakura mumbled something, red-faced. "I can't hear you, Sakura-chan."_

_Her eyes flitted to Sasuke as she repeated a little louder, "I said, I wished to get my first kiss before I turn sixteen." _

_Kakashi's head bobbed. "Hmm, ambitious," he said in what he thought was a kind way, but it only made Sakura's face burn._

_Naruto glared at the tactless jounin. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll grant your wish right now!"_

_She stomped on his foot before he could even begin to pucker his lips. Naruto howled. "Baka! Not even when worst comes to worst_!_" she yelled. Then she stopped, glanced at Sasuke, and felt like sinking into the ground. At the moment, taking a bite out of Naruto's cake seemed like the next best thing._

"_Plergh!"_

* * *

"Oh God, I'm going to be late. Naruto – _Naruto_, get up!"

"Muh?" The blonde peered blearily at his teammate as she bustled in and out of the living room. He levered himself up on an elbow, wincing as his bones cracked from spending the night on Sakura's sagging couch.

Sakura came back into the room, her hair dripping over the floor. "I'm going to have to kick you out in ten minutes," she called as she disappeared into her bedroom. He could hear a blow dryer.

"Happy birthday, Sakura-chan," Naruto called over the dull roar.

She poked her head around the door, hair whipping around her flushed face. "Thanks, Naruto," she smiled. He grinned back at her.

"Sweet sixteen, huh? Is what's-his-name doing anything for you?"

"He's picking me up in fifteen minutes."

"Whoa." Naruto shook the haze from his consciousness and got up. "I better scram then."

They'd only returned from a mission in the early hours of the morning and as usual, Naruto would have tripped and fallen comatose in a dumpster before making it home, so Sakura let him stay over at her new apartment. Nothing had happened of course, but explaining it to Sakura's almost-boyfriend was a chore Naruto was not up to at this time of day.

He had just found where he had haphazardly tossed his pack when Sakura appeared beside him. "Pink or green?" she asked, holding up two bottles of nail polish.

Naruto scratched his head, looking lost. "Err… none?"

Sakura looked at him, then at her nails. "None," she agreed, and he let out a large sigh of relief. "You're leaving already?"

"Gentlemen are always early," he pointed out, which made his teammate stare at him in horror. Hastily, he tried to keep her from escalating into a hurricane. "I'm sure he won't mind how you look."

He ducked under an airborne cushion. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

Naruto had reached the door. "Hey, Sakura." She looked over her shoulder. He flashed her a grin. "He remembered, so he's a keeper, right?"

A small smile fluttered across her lips. "We'll have to see about that."

* * *

After dinner they went down to the hospital, sitting by the fountain in the courtyard. It wasn't one of the prime spots to take a girl on her birthday, but both of them had fallen out of cheap romantics that came straight out of Kakashi's orange books. They'd met at the hospital after all; her as the Hokage's apprentice, him as a budding medic under Shizune's instruction.

He told her to wait for a moment, and Sakura spent the time gazing up at the glowing moon with a content smile on her face. She'd enjoyed the day. If Naruto pestered her tomorrow – and she knew he would – she would be able to hand down her verdict: he was indeed a keeper. Naruto would definitely tease her for the rest of the week. Knowing him, he would probably demand that they gained his unnecessary approval.

Sakura was on the verge of snorting to herself when her companion reappeared in front of her, and she choked on it. Going red, she peered up at his easy smile, eyes lingering on the large box he held out to her.

"Happy birthday, Sakura-san."

The box was heavy. She gave it a light rattle, eliciting a strange metallic sound. His smile widened when she gave him a curious look.

He helped her unwrap it, and she laughed when she saw what it was. "Wow, this is so perfect. A coffeemaker."

"You like it?" He sounded relieved.

"I love it." She leaned in to kiss his cheek, making him sit straighter. "Thank you."

They were sitting close, shoulders brushing. She had been born at 10:48pm. It was quarter past.

He rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "I'm glad. Uzumaki-san told me your coffeemaker broke last week."

Sakura blinked. Then, slowly, a small smile touched her lips. "He knows me too well," she admitted in a soft voice.

"I think your friendship is a great thing," he said, far too honestly. "I always see him waiting for you outside the hospital."

He began to lean in and she followed like a magnet, her body moving on its own. Their foreheads touched. Sakura's grip tightened on the box in her lap. "He's my best friend," she whispered, the words falling between them as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Naruto put the last strawberry on the icing and stood back to admire his handiwork. It was a masterpiece, if he did say so himself.

Now if only he'd thought about how to fit it in the fridge.

He was pondering if Sakura really needed three cartons of milk when he heard the door click open behind him. His eyes widened. _Shit_.

He whirled around to find Sakura staring at the cake, keys still in hand. The door fell shut behind her. He began to sweat. "Y-You're back so early, Sakura-chan."

Her eyes cut to his, and something unreadable flashed in her gaze. Then she abruptly looked away, biting her lip and running a hand through her hair. Naruto blinked. Putting down a milk carton, he walked toward her. "What's wrong? Was he an ass? Tell me. I'll go over and-"

"No," she interrupted quietly. She glanced at his face. "He was a keeper."

Naruto relaxed slightly. "Oh good." Then he tilted his head. "Wait. 'Was'?"

Sakura sighed. "He was such a keeper I might regret this."

"Eh?"

Before he could say more, she seized him by the jacket, pulled him down and captured his lips with hers. Naruto went stiff at first. Then his hands settled on her hips and pulled her flush against him, and he responded like the opportunity would never come again. He was warm in a way Sakura had always defined him by.

When they pulled back for air, he laughed quietly. "When worst comes to worst, right?"

Sakura laughed too, shaking her head. "No," she murmured into his lips, as his arms gently held her up. "When idiots are finally on the same page."

* * *

AN: With the exams that define thirteen years of schooling only three weeks away, I'm a little worried. Both that I've made more productive use of my time fulfilling plot bunnies than studying, and that I'm still not sure if it's 'worst comes to worst' or 'worse comes to worst'... Am I screwed?


	27. Reason

_Reason_

"Does he take you to this restaurant too?"

"I'm sorry?"

He gestured at the elegant teahouse. "Does he take you to places like this?"

Sakura regarded him, but all he had on his face was a small, sincere smile. Slowly, she shook her head. "No," she admitted. "He can't sit still in this kind of restaurant."

A curious laugh. "Does he pay?"

"On the days that he remembers his wallet, yes."

A disbelieving tone entered his smooth voice. "Really? How often does he forget it?"

She thought about it, then shook her head. "It's impossible to predict him. He's usually smart enough to choose the one restaurant he has a tab at."

"He sounds… interesting."

Sakura snorted. "That he is." She lifted her cup to her lips, taking a small sip. "I hear one of the receptionists has you on her radar," she teased.

He ducked his head, the tips of his ears reddening like she'd known they would. "She's nice but… can you, um, tell her I would very much like to remain friends?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, I don't know…"

He put his hands together. "Please, Sakura-san?"

Still pretending to think about it, Sakura watched him with a strange air of anticipation. She kept staring until his head came up and he looked at her with those gentle, intelligent eyes. She held the gaze, waiting. Nothing.

"Alright," she grinned at last. "But you're paying today."

"I was going to do it anyway," he assured her. She smiled back, pouring more tea for both of them. "Do your parents like him?" he questioned curiously.

That made her laugh. "I don't plan to let them meet each other until he learns to think before he speaks."

"Why is it him then?"

"Pardon?"

His gaze didn't waver. "Why did you choose him?" he asked quietly.

Sakura searched those eyes. Then she put her cup down. "Because for all the things he should be doing but doesn't, he does all the things he shouldn't but does," she said.

He continued to look at her. Vague confusion swam in his eyes.

She bit her lip. "I know it's crazy-"

"Has he tasted your cooking?"

She blinked.

He gave her another small smile. "Please, Sakura-san."

She owed him this, at the very least. "Yes, he has."

"Does he like it?"

His smile widened when she kicked him under the table, scowling half-heartedly. She'd always staved him off by telling him it was for his own good. She hadn't been lying. "He _says_ he does," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Does he have a tendency to say the wrong things?"

The corners of her lips quirked in a smile that matched his. "You're good at this."

"Thank you." He lightly swirled his cup. "Has he seen you cry?"

She closed her eyes briefly. "Too many times." She slowly opened them again when he set his cup down with a light clink. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

He shook his head. "You chose the right person, Sakura-san," he said ruefully.

She gave a wry smile. "It's crazy, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "Maybe you are naturally a crazy person, Sakura-san."

She kicked him again, grinning good-naturedly. "I hate fast learners," she said, and they both laughed.

* * *

Inspired by the song 'Like We Used To' by A Rocket To The Moon. I opened a new document right after the song finished and started writing so it is somewhat rushed. Consider it a continuation of the previous drabble. Okay, back to work!


	28. Smile

_Smile_

"Naru… um. Honey, I… I love you, would you please give me a smile?"

"Honey, I love you too… but I just can't smile."

"Dammit!"

"Hah! Who's your papa? _Who_ is your papa? Whoo!"

Chuckling, Ino nudged her companion. "Naruto's pretty good at this, huh?"

Sakura looked up from her drink, appraising the sight of a frustrated Kiba stomping away from a smug Naruto. "I'm not surprised," she said. "He came up with the game, after all."

Her answer was obviously not to Ino's taste, because the next moment found her staring down a disapproving frown. "Don't be so boring, Forehead. Wake that party spirit of yours – hey, don't give me that look. You know how it is. If you wanted to weasel out you should have landed yourself in hospital."

"Well, I apologise for not ripping myself to pieces."

Ino rolled her eyes. Sakura thumped her shoulder, returning to her drink with a small smile.

There wasn't much time for group gatherings these days, not with everyone so busy with their duties. But not even returning from a B-class mission was enough of an excuse to pass up a birthday. That was how Sakura had been cornered, with her mind asleep and body dragged to Tenten's party. All courtesy of one Yamanaka Ino, of course. Really, what were friends for?

A squeak came from the group on the sofas, followed by a shaky, "K-Kiba-kun! That wasn't fair!" Sakura looked over at her friends. Poor Hinata. When the aim of the game was to reply without smiling or laughing to something like 'Honey, I love you, would you please give me a smile?' the Hyuuga heiress was not exactly a champion. Especially when the other player was permitted to use any necessary means – and this was taken very seriously among ninja. The most popular ace card was asking the question while pulling off a mind-boggling henge, and Sakura admitted to have fallen for a rather convincing Shizune when she had played earlier.

Sudden silence wreathed the room. Sakura looked up – and nearly spat out her drink.

"Sai!" Shimura Danzou barked. "I love you so therefore I order you to _smile_."

_I am scarred for life._

Sakura's mind was still trying to compute what she was witnessing that she hardly noticed Sai's reaction, or the shadow lurking behind her until it engulfed her in a bear hug. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto laughed when she let out a startled yelp. "That was cute, do it again!"

"Mou, don't do that!" she scolded half-heartedly. "And get off me. You're heavy."

He didn't let go. Of course. "Come play with us."

"Naruto, I played five rounds already. And I need to get my hands on a cold drink if I'm going to stay awake until… mm, that is so good." Because Naruto was working his magic on the knots of aching muscle clenched in her shoulders and neck. Sakura closed to her eyes with a soft sigh, letting her head fall back against his chest. Everyone knew Naruto gave the best massages, and Sakura sometimes took it for granted that she had his service at beck and call.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered dramatically in her ear now.

"Hmm? Oh, a bit to the left… ahh…"

"I love you, would you please give me a smile?"

She'd seen that coming a mile away. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Nope."

"Aww, please?" The pout in his voice. God, the pout. Sakura fought to maintain a poker face.

"Nuh uh."

"So mean," Naruto whined, with such a convincing sniffle that Sakura might have felt bad if she didn't know him like the back of her hand. "I'm so hurt, Sakura-chan. I thought you loved me!"

Before Sakura could reply, someone called in a singsong voice, "You'd better cheer him up now, Sakura." Ino's voice. Sakura's eyes flew open to find nearly a dozen pairs of eyes eyeing her and Naruto. Crap. She'd completely forgotten about their friends.

Even though he was standing behind her, Sakura knew Naruto had to be grinning. "You could have _told_ me," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"But you looked so comfy," he replied cheerfully. The cheek left him in a breathless "oof!" as Sakura's elbow rammed into his ribs. He turned to moan pitifully into the wall. "Owowow. That crack was my heart breaking, Sakura-chan. But it's okay, you can have the pieces and crush them even more if it makes you feel better, because I just love you _soooooo_-"

Sakura sighed as their friends snickered. Naruto had been a master of guilt-tripping even before Sai introduced him to dripping sarcasm, and despite her efforts to convince them otherwise, the entire village knew Haruno Sakura was the blonde troublemaker's greatest victim.

"Go on, Sakura," Tenten called with a signature mischievous smile. "I can't have people feeling down at my party."

The pink-haired medic let out another sigh as her gaze sidled over to Naruto. He was enjoying this so much he ought to be reacquainted with her fist. But it was Tenten's birthday and even if she was still sagging at the edges from her mission, taking it out on someone else right now would make Sakura feel worse. Even if it was Naruto.

Especially if it was Naruto.

Shaking her head, Sakura reached out to tug her teammate's bright jacket. "Hey, Naruto. Come on."

He sniffed, giving her a kicked puppy look. The entire room was silent as its occupants gave Sakura exaggerated go-right-ahead-we're-not-watching-_at-all_ gestures. Grimacing, she reached out to pull Naruto's hand away from his chest. She'd just say it, he'd fall for it immediately, and then she'd be able to recline with that much-needed drink. If she pulled it off well, Naruto might even give her another massage.

At least, that was how it played out in Sakura's mindscape. What really happened was this:

"Honey-"

"Yes, sweetums?"

Sakura blinked as she found herself staring into those familiar, bright eyes. Humour and mischief twinkled in them, but there was not a hint of a smile on his features. Instead, Sakura was the one whose lips slowly lifted. Alright, two could play this game.

"Sugarcakes," she said sweetly.

His eyes positively sparkled with the hidden smile. If only she could call him on it. "Pumpkin."

"Babykins."

"Pookie bear."

"Buttercup."

"Upsized ramen."

Sakura shot him a flat look. "Naruto's Special Triple Upsized ramen."

"Charcoal-black steak."

Sakura sputtered. "That was the one time!" Mainly because she'd never dared try again.

He looked innocently at her. "Microwave meals?" Oh, now he'd done it.

"Overdue milk." She grinned triumphantly at Naruto's affronted expression. Until an impish smile grew on his face, one she didn't even have time to point out.

"Mrs Uzumaki Sakura."

The ear-splitting howl of pain spread as far as the Hokage Tower, and Tsunade chuckled as she reached for a form to file a D-rank for yet another idiot-shaped hole in a wall.

* * *

AN: Quickly finished this old piece in one of the miniscule breaks I assigned myself amidst ten hours of study. Exams begin on Tuesday. Three weeks until I'm free! I am itching to work on those plot bunnies. I've actually started writing experimental chapters for one of those bunnies, but it's still in development stage. Man, I miss writing so much.

Honey, I Love You was a game I was introduced to last year in a peer support session. We had a girl who was so good at it the teacher (female) got a ring and knelt down in front of her. The girl cracked up as soon as the teacher said "_Honey._"


	29. Selfish

_Selfish_

When he'd sat for long enough, it eventually occurred to Naruto that the consistent beeping he so detested when he was the one hooked up to the heart monitor and restricted to the stiff bed by Tsunade's traumatising threats, was the only thing he found comfort in as he watched her. Besides that unforgettable face, pale as it was, and the familiar grooves in her hand as he grasped it with his own.

Her eyelids fluttered when he absently ran his thumb along the ring on her finger in a habitual gesture. "Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked softly when her eyes slowly opened and, after narrowing in a brief grimace, focused on him.

The jade pupils, glazed with lingering anaesthetic, studied his tanned, whiskered face idly for several moments. Then Sakura smiled. "Hey." He hated the hollow, monotonous tone of her voice through the oxygen mask, hated that she was even lying on this bed to begin with. She squeezed his hand lightly, as if she knew better than to let his thoughts wander. "You're back so quickly."

Naruto adopted a wounded pout. "Sakura-chan isn't happy to see me?"

"Hmm, let me think about that."

"Ouch." He grinned back at Sakura's eye roll, and then gently untangled their fingers. "But you must love me more than this little thing here, right? Right? Don't lie!"

The baby wobbled on unsteady legs as Naruto carefully placed her on the edge of the bed, his large hand supporting her. He laughed amusedly when she immediately fell forward against Sakura's arm as she eagerly crawled towards her mother.

"Ren." Sakura's face lit up, her eyes softening as she carefully turned to cradle their daughter. She stroked the fine, golden strands on the small, warm head, and closed her eyes with a content smile that usually made Naruto giddy with warmth, but today clenched him with guilt.

Ren stared at Sakura with large green eyes. Then her lower lip began to tremble, and her small face scrunched up with snivels that had woken Naruto nearly every night for the past week. Ren hadn't cried like that in a long time, leaving her father sleepless on all occasions – although Naruto felt his insomnia was his own fault before the baby's.

Now, he watched with a jolt of surprise and concern when Sakura lifted the oxygen mask off her face. "Sakura-"

"It's scaring her," she said, and he stopped because he hadn't realised her voice was so thin without the mask. Sakura noticed the look on his face and gave him a patented Look that was more knowing than it was teasing. "If you tell Tsunade-sama, Konoha is going to see its Hokage publicly humiliated."

"Aww, I'm such a bad influence on you, Sakura. But that's so not fair – _I_ don't blackmail you when you see me sneaking out!"

She looked at him with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk that silently said _That's because you wouldn't dare. _Sakura stroked Ren's back, who had quietened easily and was now curled against her chest with drooping eyelids. Naruto watched the child as well, his grin slipping slowly until he glanced up to find Sakura looking directly into his eyes. "It's not as bad as it looks, you know," she told him lightly.

Naruto grimaced. "Really? Three blood transfusions and a punctured lung sounds as bad as a Chidori to the chest. And that really hurts."

"Naruto." As usual, one look into his eyes betrayed how upset he was. Meeting those eyes, Sakura didn't smile or offer anything but the truth. She'd tried before, the first time and the second time, until she learned by the third that she was terrible at lying to such an obnoxiously transparent idiot. "Stop that. We've both been through worse. You know how war is."

"You don't get it, Sakura," Naruto blurted, like he'd suffocate under its weight if he didn't let it out. "It's not the same-"

"Because _you_ gave me that mission?" Sakura finished, not looking away from his gaze. He opened and closed his mouth several times without saying a word, before eventually clenching his jaw. "Naruto, if you had sent anyone else they wouldn't have come back alive," she said in a softer tone.

He flinched, the blonde head turning away. Sakura pinched the hand holding hers. "When you accepted that hat, you should have known you'd have to be Hokage before a husband."

Naruto bit his lip. He knew it _too_ well; he'd only reminded her of the same thing a million times after proposing. It hadn't occurred to him before getting down on his knees with the ring, that he of all people would have to draw the strict line between business and personal. Surprisingly, Naruto managed a fairly decent job of it. But sometimes, like now, it broke him just a little.

"I hate wearing that hat. It makes me look like a mushroom." He lightly prodded Ren's cheek, watching her burrow deeper into the safety of Sakura's embrace. His gaze hesitantly travelled up to Sakura's. The rare yet omnipresent patience in her eyes made him lean in to rest his forehead against hers. "But you're not supposed to be a kunoichi before a mother," he whispered with a deep sigh, closing his eyes.

He could feel her tensing slightly so he wouldn't detect the feeble shuddering of each breath she took. She should have known better – he should have too, when her fingers closed around his wrist as his brushed the oxygen mask she had discarded. "That's exactly how it's supposed to be, silly."

"Nuh uh."

"Ya huh."

"Not if I say so."

"Oh, my mistake, Hokage-sama." A pause. "You're a great leader, you know that?" Sakura murmured.

He smiled faintly. "But I'm selfish. That doesn't work."

"Come on, Naruto. You're stupid, not blind."

She let him put a strong arm beneath her and very gently lift her towards him. His reassuring warmth tempted her to cling to his shirt and mumble into his chest that she wanted him to stay with her a while longer. But Haruno Sakura couldn't say those words anymore, because they both knew Naruto would leave his office in chaos just to hold her as she slept. Only she was aware that it killed him; he could do nothing but deny that he'd feel guiltily selfish no matter which option he chose, and only drowned in self-blame. So Sakura didn't say anything, knowing she never would.

"Same thing," Naruto whispered dismissively, before capturing her lips in a deep, tender kiss. Ren hardly stirred, cradled between her parents.

The corners of Sakura's lips lifted a little when she felt him grin. "What?"

"Your heart went from _beep, beep, beep_ to _beepbeep, beepbeep,_" he pointed out mischievously.

"Shut up."

"Tut tut, Sakura-chan, not in front of the baby." He nuzzled her. "I'm such a bad influence."

At that moment, Ren made a small sound that somehow resembled a dignified burp. Looking at each other, Naruto and Sakura tried unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter. They laughed louder even when their snorts resulted in an awake, grumpy baby.

Naruto took Ren from Sakura and lifted her over his head, the way she liked. Her rising sobs abruptly became gurgles of pleasure. Sakura lay watching them, wondering if it was selfish of the two of them to have brought their daughter into the world when they were both such risk taking _idiots_. Then Naruto swooped down and put a giggling Ren in her face and she put it to the back of her mind as she met his shining eyes.

After all, they would always be human before shinobi.

* * *

A/N: I often have to remind myself that the Naruto characters are essentially soldiers and that sometimes it's not all dandy. And that's how this came to be, although it's admittedly not my best. After updating Precious People - and now just starting on Blossom In My Eyes - I'm a bit poofed out. Or it could be that I only had four hours of sleep. Sleepovers are so fun, but don't ever expect to actually, you know, sleep. Haha. Twelve hours of sleep coming right up!


	30. Clueless

_Clueless_

No one knew when they had started.

They weren't like Ino and Shikamaru. Those two were discovered instantly – it wasn't hard, what with Ino hanging off his arm much more than usual, glaring at each passing female much more than usual, and Shikamaru sighing and grumbling about "troublesome women" much more than usual. When they'd been cornered, Ino had gaped – apparently, she had been trying to keep it quiet. Even Neji had to guffaw at that. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes.

No, they weren't like Ino and Shikamaru. For one, it took much, much more than a passing look to tell. Not to mention that they hadn't even been hiding it at all.

It was the little things that gave them away. The way she absently tucked his collar down and his sheepish chuckle when she scolded him half-heartedly. The way they'd automatically swap ingredients in their ramen bowls as they ate, almost like they didn't notice it. The way they grew fidgety when the other was away on a mission and burst into talkative chatter when they returned. The little things.

Except those little things were also the usual things. Their friends couldn't put their finger on it. They were suspicious – Kiba and Lee even tailed them for a day only to return empty-handed and confused. When they asked the two suspects themselves, they got the usual; she would roll her eyes with that '_Him?_ Seriously?' look and he would laugh like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard and dismiss it with a "Hah, I wish!"

It was Hinata who finally noticed it, but even then she only realised after they had started taking over each other's couches on late, tiring nights.

No one could remember the last time he had pestered her for a date.

By the time their friends realised what was happening, they couldn't help bursting into sniggers whenever they saw the two of them together, tucking collars and eating ramen together like they always did. They responded to all suspicious looks with ludicrous comments, usually along the lines of "Oh, nothing. Just admiring two idiots."

It was impossible to tell how long it had taken them to realise. No one could say exactly when it had started – though that was not to say they didn't place bets anyway. It could have been weeks, months – who knew, maybe even years.

But there was one thing they were absolutely certain of.

Naruto and Sakura were the last to know.

* * *

A quick drabble on a rainy day. Also - new poll question up on my profile!


	31. When It Hurts

A/N: This was somehow inspired by listening to Carrie Underwood's 'Starts With Goodbye'. It was supposed to take down a completely different path but it sprouted a mind of its own and shot down this alley instead, leaving me to raise my eyebrow and fudge a bit of context. So let's say this is an alternate take to what could have happened after Naruto found out about poor Jiraiya's demise. Angst warning?

* * *

_When It Hurts_

She found him in the last place she would have thought to look on such a day. He was so still, so silent and so _invisible_ that she wouldn't have realised his presence without his sandals by the door.

The urge to race through the familiar hallway pulled at her limbs but Sakura suppressed it as she quietly padded across the living room. She didn't like it, the fear that he would disappear, but she was already beyond caring about that.

Yet she still hesitated at the door. He looked pretty ridiculous lying in the middle of a fluffy pink rug that was the centrepiece of a girl's room. He was sprawled across the surface in the same way that he did on any flat surface; loud and without a care in the world. It was a deceiving sight.

"Why my place?" Sakura asked eventually, still standing in the doorway.

He didn't open his eyes. "Oh. Welcome home, Sakura-chan."

"Thanks. But you didn't answer my question."

"Mm?" It was always obvious when Naruto was trying to avoid something, someone. Sakura knew it wasn't _her_ specifically but it still stung. "Well… I knew you'd be looking for me. I kinda wanted to be alone."

She bit her lip. "I don't think you really want that."

"Ah, I think I know what I want, Sakura-chan," he chuckled. Without warning, he rolled upright. "But don't worry, I'll just go somewhere else. Shouldn't have borrowed your floor like that. Sorry."

"You can stay." She shook her head. "You _should_ stay."

He absently brushed himself off. "Nah, I'll just go home and sleep it off."

It was the way he walked past without looking anywhere near her that tested her. "Just stay," Sakura said to his back, already headed for the door. "We can have ramen for dinner and watch that movie you borrowed from Kiba and… and we can talk… if you want."

"Wow, that sounds really nice." She didn't let the hope rise because she had already known the rueful shake of his head would follow. She knew him too well. "But how about another day?"

She wasn't going to let him walk out that door. "How about today? I think you need it."

He sat down on the step to put on his shoes. "It's alright, Sakura."

"I don't think so."

"Well, I think so and I'm saying it's alright." That rising sharpness in his voice haunted her. Sakura clenched her jaw and fists.

"Stop saying that!" she burst out, and he flinched. Not at her words; at her and the desperate anger in her tone. "Stop lying to yourself, Naruto. You don't know how to deal with it on your own. You want to stay, don't you? You came here waiting for me, not to hide."

He ran a hand through his hair. "You're wrong, Sakura-chan," he said quietly.

"No, I'm not. You know this isn't what Jirai-"

"_I said 'you're wrong'!"_ Naruto bellowed.

Sakura staggered backwards as if hit, her next breath catching in her chest. She stared wide-eyed at his heaving shoulders and bowed head, listened to his panting breath. Then her nails began to bite into her palm as she drew in her own long, loud breaths.

She would give him a piece of her mind. She'd show him he wasn't the only one grieving. She'd make him see how selfish and stupid and _cowardly_ he was acting. She'd make him stay here with her so he wouldn't wake up alone in the morning with red eyes and a pillow smelling of tears.

Only nothing would come out of her mouth except the last thing she wanted him to hear.

Naruto's head came up. "Sakura?" he called uncertainly.

She glared furiously at the floor, angrily swiping at her eyes. Damn it. _Damn it. _"Naruto, you… you _idiot…"_

And he whirled around. He stared horrified, transfixed, as she pressed the heel of her palm into her eyes and tried to force down the lump in her throat that was making the tears spill. Naruto's face twisted in agony. "S-Sakura," he said weakly. Slowly, he got to his feet and took a step toward her.

She turned away from him. "Just go then!" she hissed thickly. "If you're so sure you want to sit in an empty room by yourself, then _go._ I'm sorry for bothering you."

He caught her wrist when she blindly tried to push him away. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice wrought with torment. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to yell… come on, Sakura-chan, please… please stop crying."

"You're such a jerk," she mumbled, no longer trying to dry her eyes.

"I know, I know. This jerk needs to be punished, right? Free shot!" He tried to laugh. She just shook her head. The way she sniffled made his eyes sting. Helpless, Naruto put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in against him. She was cold to touch. "Sakura… why are you all wet?"

This time, she really laughed. It wasn't a cheerful sound. "What, you just noticed? It's because I spent all afternoon running through the rain looking for an _asshole_ who won't admit that he's lost, doesn't know what to do and doesn't want to be alone." She took a deep breath, eyes on their shadows on the wall. He completely enveloped her. She should push him away, should let him understand what it felt like to watch helplessly as their best friend refused to be comforted. Instead, she murmured, "I told you when we saw Sasuke again… I'm still here."

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I know. I know. But…"

Sakura swallowed with difficulty. "But Jiraiya-sama isn't," she whispered. "Right?"

She felt the hitch of his breath against her neck. His arms tightened around her. After a long moment, he nodded powerlessly.

Sakura reached up to find Naruto's cheek, warm beneath her palm. Her fingers threaded into his hair. Gently, she brought his head down to her shoulder, where he immediately buried his face into her neck. She sighed when he trembled, cold wetness falling onto her skin. "You're staying here, okay?"

He nodded into her neck. Several moments later, he mumbled, "I'm sorry I made you cry. I wasn't… I was being really mean."

"You'll pay for it tomorrow." She smiled faintly when he winced. She still had her hand in his hair, and she stroked the strands absentmindedly.

Tomorrow, she would talk to him. She would help him see that they were shinobi, and that even though shinobi would always lose those important to them, he should know that his very existence was Jiraiya's legacy. She would stay with him as he apologised to Tsunade, frowned over his master's cryptic code and when he least wanted her there.

But for now, she would let him hold her, trembling like a child as they stood in the rain that dripped from her clothes. For now, they would say hurtful things to each other and cry for it and pretend that it was the worst of their worries. For now.


	32. Faith

A/N: Sorry guys, just a reupload of the same chapter. There was a bit of a problem when I uploaded it yesterday; for at least eight hours after publishing, the chapter couldn't be accessed. I wake up now and it's showing up, but I've been advised to take down the chapter, reupload it and see if it happens again. Sorry for guinea pigging you guys, haha.

* * *

_Faith_

Night had fallen over the village many hours ago by the time it was Sakura's turn for 'Naruto duty'. One step into the office, the room began to spin wildly.

"Sakura-chaaaaaannn!"

"Wha – _Naruto!_ Put me down!" As if her headache wasn't bad enough already. When the pale, blurry walls began to morph into a sickly shade of green, Sakura brought her elbow down on the blonde head beneath her arm. Hard. "Honestly!"

It didn't really help. Naruto was still for a few seconds, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist. Then he staggered and toppled backwards, taking Sakura with him. Sakura yelped and shut her eyes before the room could take off like a vortex.

"Ow," Naruto said.

Grumbling, Sakura put her hands on either side of him and lifted her cheek off his chest. His arms obediently fell away to let her up. He was sprawled spreadeagled on the carpet, grinning up at her. She rolled her eyes and offered him her hand. "I just came out of a nine hour shift at the hospital. Do that again and I'll drop dead."

His tanned brow furrowed with concern. "You should go home and get some good rest, Sakura. Want me to take you?"

"You are not going anywhere, Hokage-sama. Please return to your seat." Sakura looked past Naruto's shoulder to see Shizune standing by the large wooden desk, shaking her head with exasperation. It was a familiar sight.

"Shizune, Shikamaru," Sakura greeted with a small smile. She shrugged out of her jacket; Naruto eagerly took it from her. "How's he doing?"

Thrown back in a seat, Shikamaru didn't even open his eyes. "Fourteen."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully. Konoha had more than fourteen legislations. A lot more. But since this was Naruto, learning more than ten of them in one day was already a minor miracle.

Then the Nara clan head cracked open an eye to meet Sakura's. "They're all the ones he's broken in the past," he told her around the unlit cigarette clenched in the corner of his mouth. "Nothing else will get in his head."

At this, Sakura shot a look at Naruto. "No wonder you wanted me to go home."

Laughing weakly, he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Ignoring his protests, Sakura grabbed her best friend by the ear and pulled him back to the desk – his desk – and planted him firmly in the seat behind it. Naruto rubbed his ear pitifully, his expression drooping even more at the dozens of scrolls scattered in front of him. "I can't do it, Sakura-chan," he whined.

"He's trying," Shizune said. The blonde bobbed his head in rapid agreement. "He's done nothing but study them over and over again for hours. We've tried reading and drawing them for him." She gave Sakura a defeated look. "Nothing works."

"Have you tried the ramen incentive?"

"Yes." Shikamaru gave Naruto a disgruntled look. "I owe him twenty-one bowls already."

Sakura winced; Shikamaru grunted at her empathy. "Well, it is my shift now. Let me try."

Shikamaru got up and offered her his chair. "Please do."

Naruto watched as Sakura pulled the chair around the desk and seated herself beside him. Reaching across, she unrolled the nearest scroll and spread it in front of him. She put her hand on his head and twisted it around so that his blank stare bored into the endless columns of kanji. To be fair, just looking at the dizzying print made Sakura's head throb painfully. To Naruto, it had to be a death sentence.

She blinked when a large hand prodded an orange, half-filled mug of coffee in front of her. She looked up to see Naruto grinned at her. Smiling back, she put one hand around the cup and took a sip. Naruto always put too much sugar in his beverages. The other hand, she used to point at the first legislation. "Read this one for me."

"'No Leaf-nin or citizen may engage in conduct that may be harmful to the village's welfare in any way, shape or form'," Naruto recited in a bored monotone. "'Punishment may be handed down by the Hokage; the council may contribute to the verdict.'"

"This one just means that you can't betray the village. Well, shouldn't."

"That's obvious, isn't it?"

Sakura easily turned his face back to the scroll. "Yes, it's the first thing we learned at the Academy. But for some reason, you can't seem to remember it," she said pointedly.

Naruto groaned and dropped his head onto the table. "I hate this job. Can I quit?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Sakura put the cup down. "Naruto."

"What?" His voice was muffled by the scroll.

"Look at me."

After a pause, Naruto turned his head so that his eyes peeked above his arms, which he had tucked in as a pillow. He regarded Sakura's tired face, taking in the sharp glint in her eyes that belied the way she held herself like she was barely staying awake.

"Naruto," she said again, quietly. "Not everyone can fulfil their dreams. But you did. You never gave up even when we all laughed at you. You've gone through so much just to be here. It's really inspiring, you know. When you put on that hat last week, I… you weren't the only one crying, alright?"

Naruto didn't do anything but blink, his gaze steady as it focused on her face. Sakura looked at him. "I'd be very disappointed in you if you let a bunch of old laws ruin your dream," she told him.

He began to frown. He knew that. "I'm trying, Sakura," he murmured. "I'm not giving up but… this kind of stuff is really hard for someone like me."

He twitched when he felt a sudden warmth against his cheek. Sakura had pressed the coffee mug into his face. She smiled when he accepted it. "Come on."

Naruto sighed and made a face. "Uh… don't be a bastard?"

"Traitor, Naruto. Traitor."

"Oh. Don't be a traitor to the village?"

"Pretty much. Read the next one."

"Hey. Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

"You believe in me, right?"

"Stop asking silly questions, Hokage-sama. Next one."

"… I don't get it. What does 'delegate' mean?"

"Alright. This one is easy too. All it's saying is…"

Shikamaru and Shizune shared a disbelieving look. Then they sighed as they realised they almost deserved it.

They should have known 'Naruto duty' was an acquired skill unique to only one, pink-haired kunoichi.


	33. First Time

_First Time_

"He's such a jerk! I can't believe he said that. Can _you_ believe he said that? I mean… hey, don't fall asleep on a friend in need, girl!"

"Ino, it's half past three in the morning."

"_Exactly_. It's been over four hours since he said those hurtful words to me and he still hasn't apologised."

"He could be, you know, sleeping."

"Then he's a jerk. A heartless, insensitive jerk."

"So we've established…"

"Sakura, stay awake!"

"Hai, hai…"

"You're supposed to be comforting me, you know."

"Here, have more tissues."

"Some best friend you are. Can't you at least try to reassure me or something?"

"With what?"

"I don't know. Your personal experience, maybe?"

"… You want me to comfort you with my experiences arguing with Naruto? Umm, you were there for half of them. We're not exactly… quiet."

"Oh, _now_ she's wide awake. What, he's never made you cry? And why are you laughing?"

"Aha, sorry. It's just… oh man. The first time Naruto made me cry, he started crying too."

"See that? I need a man like that. I'm going to dump Shikamaru right now, tell him he's not romantic enough, and hook up with Naruto."

"Oi. Back. Off."

"Ouch. You'd choose your man over your best friend."

"Don't be a hypocrite. And you aren't going to dump Shikamaru."

"Give me three reasons why."

"One: you love him."

"I _like_ him. A little. Maybe."

"Right. Two: reality check – if you think you can get through a relationship without arguing, crying and hating the other person, you're even more naïve than Lee."

"It's not like I don't know-"

"And three: when you wake up in the morning, it'll be to Shikamaru belting corny love songs through your window with a bouquet and homemade apology cake in hand."

"… No way. He's nowhere near romantic enough. He'd find it too bothersome."

"He'll do it."

"Yeah right. What makes you so sure?"

"Because I'm sure he's asking Naruto for advice."

* * *

A/N: The first all dialogue drabble since Naughty. This is how lazy I can get, haha.


	34. Promise of a Lifetime

_Promise of a Lifetime_

Naruto had been hanging between a strange dream and deep slumber when Sakura came in. She banged through the office doors like she hadn't been avoiding her Hokage since he proposed to her exactly four days and seventeen hours ago.

Naruto shot to his feet, swiping away a trail of dribble. He hastily shuffled the files on his desk, trying to make it look like he hadn't been using them as a pillow. He glared at the chuunins waving their arms in mad warning by the office doors. Izumo and Kotetsu knew better than to stand between Haruno Sakura and the Hokage, but it didn't mean Naruto liked learning that he had a rampaging kunoichi on his trail when it was already too late to escape.

His mind flashed back to the top of the Hokage Monument and Sakura's expression when he'd dropped to his knee in the snow. He swallowed. "H-Hi, Sakura-"

She seized his hand. "Come with me for a bit."

Oh no. This could not be good. Naruto desperately latched onto his desk. "I have paperwork to finish! You can't kidnap the Hokage!"

He didn't see it, but he could imagine her rolling her eyes. "I'm _borrowing _you. Your beloved paperwork can have you back in half an hour."

Beloved. Naruto peeked over his shoulder. "You know I love you way more, right?" he clarified dubiously.

The corners of Sakura's lips tipped into a discrete smile. "Are you coming or not?"

It wasn't even a question. When Sakura smiled like that, Naruto couldn't help but drop everything on his hands. Including a table.

She didn't let go of his hand as she led him through the slippery streets. Whatever urgency that had strung Sakura so tightly in the office ebbed away as they navigated through the thickly-dressed crowd. It was the first day without snow all week and the streets were filled with villagers smart enough to grasp the perfect shopping opportunity. Still, it was a chilly day and Naruto hadn't had the sense to grab his coat on his way out.

When he sneezed for the third time in two blocks, Sakura glanced up at him and passed him a packet of tissues. "Blow your nose," she told him. Obediently, Naruto did. Shaking her head, Sakura pulled off her scarf and wrapped it snugly around his neck. He immediately burrowed into her warmth and grinned. Sakura smiled back. Then he sneezed again and she whacked him.

"Web ab be gobing?"

"You'll see. And _blow your nose._"

They pulled out of the crowd. Naruto blinked up at the blinking store sign. By that time, Sakura had already pushed open the door. She greeted the store owner and squeezed Naruto's hand until he remembered his own manners and bowed – which only prompted one twice as deep in return. Then she tugged him down one of the aisles. The store was lit with a faint blue glow and buzzed with air pumps, filters and bubbling water.

Naruto was immediately fascinated. He pointed excitedly at a tank above his head. "Look Sakura-chan! A blowfish!"

Sakura laughed at the raspberry he blew at the fish. "We're not here to trace your ancestry, Naruto."

They stopped in front of a tank milling with goldfish. Naruto wasted no time in dropping to his haunches and pulling faces at the small creatures. They zipped around the water in flashes of gold and silver. "Are you going to buy a fishy, Sakura?" he asked without looking away from the water.

"That's right. Choose one."

Naruto didn't even think to ask why. The minutes flew by as they poked at the glass, laughing at the one that looked pregnant, the one with a pattern like the Leaf symbol, and the way one chased another around the tank. One tried vainly to nibble at Sakura's finger through the glass. That was the one Naruto chose.

The storekeeper scooped the tiny fish into a small bucket for confirmation. Naruto poked his finger into the water and the fish eagerly chased after it. Sakura shook her head. So easily amused.

She settled her hands on his shoulders, her face by his. He pressed his warm cheek into hers. "You have to take care of it, okay?" she said.

"You're buying me a fish?"

"You don't want one?"

He blubbered with protest. Sakura knew she wasn't doing him a favour. If he put the fish in his office, he would never get any work done.

"Then you have to take good care of it," she told him. "You have to remember to feed it – no ramen. And you can't overfeed. You have to change its water at least once a week."

That already sounded like such a chore. Naruto grumbled.

Sakura playfully pinched his ear. "What, did you think it'd be a walk in the park?" she teased. "Be careful how much affection you pour into it. When it gets sick, sometimes there isn't anything you can do to save it. You might wake up one day and it'll already be belly up. Prepare to be heartbroken."

"I'll take good care of it," Naruto vowed seriously.

"You'd better. But it'll still die one day, probably before you." Sakura's voice softened. "If it dies and you get lonely, you can get yourself another one to keep you company." Naruto's fingers had found their way into her hair and she leaned into his palm. "It's tougher than you thought, huh? Do you still want it?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Definitely."

A pause. "Are you sure?" Sakura persisted.

"A hundred percent sure. I've already thought of a name for the little guy. I'm going to call it Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned at her expression. He nuzzled her before she could decide if hitting him was necessary. "I know what I'm getting into, Sakura," he whispered. "I won't treat marriage like a game."

She grimaced. "Jumping to conclusions is a bad habit."

"Oh. My bad. So I guess you won't mind if I don't want the fish anymore…"

"No!" she said without thinking.

Naruto's grin widened and he pulled her into his chest. "That's a yes, right?"

"I said no." Her voice was muffled.

"So… you don't want to marry me?"

Sakura's head shot up, her hair whipping against Naruto's chin. "What? _No!_"

He released her. "You don't want to marry me?" Naruto repeated, flabbergasted.

Sakura's mouth fell open. "No! No, no, no, I meant – Kami help me." Grinding her teeth, she held his face between her hands, looking deep into his eyes. "You _idiot_," she muttered, and pressed her lips into his.

Her weight pushed Naruto onto his back. The floor was slightly wet but he didn't notice. His arms cinched around her waist.

For a long moment they just stared at each other, their cold noses just touching. Then she started to laugh. "I can't believe I'm going to spend the rest of my life with an idiot like you."

"Hey, I can be pretty smart. Remember that time I beat-" Naruto stopped. He stared at Sakura's small smile, the way her eyes twinkled. He held his breath. "You mean-"

"Yes," she said, and that was enough for him.

Slowly, Naruto's face broke into a large smile. He squeezed her so tightly she had to hit him half-heartedly. His face was flushed as he said, "Let's buy another fish."

Sakura blinked. Then her eyes narrowed. "You want a mistress already?"

Naruto laughed and sat up, lifting her to her feet. "No, silly. Sakura-chan needs a Naruto to make sure no other fish tries to flirt with her."

"Oh, I don't know about that. She's pretty popular, you know."

"Well, Naruto _is _too handsome for his own good. He might have a few fans of his own."

"… Who?"

All around them, their hundreds of witnesses swam to the surface and blew bubbles of knowing laughter.

* * *

A/N: My two goldfish, Spike and Cheese (why these names? Long story...) inspired this oneshot. Do not underestimate the art of raising fish!


	35. Angel to Eggnog

A/N: I thought I should post something for the new year, so here are five 100 word drabbles from Heaven and Earth's A-Z holiday challenge - come join the forum! Hope you all had a great Christmas and let's welcome a new year! I'm not a believer of the 2012 Apocalypse theory, but I do believe that it doesn't hurt to live every year like it's your last. See you in 2012!

* * *

_Angel to Eggnog_

**Angel**

She loved snow. She loved listening to her friends laugh. She loved reading – especially beneath a tree.

One stray snowball was all it took to complete the recipe for disaster.

Naruto tentatively approached the mound of snow beneath the tall oak. "Sakura-chan? Are you… okay?"

He jumped back when a pink head burst through the pile. "Gah, I'm sorry!"

Her face was expressionless. "Naruto."

"All the white, err… makes you look like an angel. Yeah! You're so pretty, Sakura!"

"Naruto."

He gulped. "Yes…?"

Sakura calmly brushed herself off. It was unnecessary – the snow _melted_ off her. Then she smiled.

"Run."

* * *

**Bells**

Naruto gave his first genin team the bell test. The kids never even touched them, but he passed them for the same reason Kakashi had.

For the Christmas season, Naruto decided to make the bells a permanent accessory.

Sakura tells him it's a stupid idea. It's childish, annoying and breaks every rule in a shinobi's stealth manual.

What she doesn't tell him is that, sometimes, the sound of the cheerful chime amidst a bloody, chaotic battlefield is the only thing keeping her whole.

"The enemy will hear you miles away, you idiot."

"Doesn't matter as long as you can, too."

* * *

**Carols**

He didn't really remember her name, so she became The Pretending Girl.

It was during the fourth rehearsal, two days from their Christmas performance, that Naruto noticed she wasn't pretending today. In the middle of the last carol, he nudged her.

He sang particularly loudly to cover her squeak.

"Why don't you sing?" he whispered.

Her green eyes widened. "I-I am."

"You're just moving your lips. You can't fool the future Hokage!"

She flushed. "Ami says I sound like a frog."

He grinned. "Trust me, frogs are awesome."

She began to smile.

"They get kissed by pretty girls like you."

* * *

**Decorations**

"You know, if we were all decorations, Ino would be mistletoe."

Those bright blue eyes were staring expectantly at her. Sakura gave in. "Why?" she asked, and his grin widened.

He pointed up.

Ino, riding on Chouji's enlarged hands, was fussing around the top of the Christmas tree with the star in her hands. She passed above their heads.

Sakura smiled unconsciously. "Oh."

Naruto had already leaned in. Their foreheads touched.

A shower of tinsel, and a black head between them.

"What would I be?"

Expletives bounced around Naruto's mind.

Sakura's fist came down on Sai's head. "A light bulb!"

* * *

**Eggnog**

He'd planned it perfectly. Not only did they get free fireworks and lights in the background, it'd give them an anniversary date he would have no trouble remembering.

Sakura smiled. "So why did you drag me up here?"

In a flash, Naruto produced an orange mug. "Homemade Uzumaki eggnog. One of a kind. It's got a special ingredient."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. But what could go wrong?

Below them, the countdown began.

"Marry me, Sakura."

As the village welcomed the new year, their Hokage caught a spray of eggnog in the face. A silver ring rebounded off his forehead protector.


	36. Prank

****Brought to you by an evening with fish and chips, and tomato sauce.

* * *

**Prank**

The door opened and the footsteps stopped. Complete and utter silence. She was probably shell-shocked with grief and speechless with what she thought she had lost. Maybe her eyes were filling with tears already, while her lungs struggled to inhale enough air to scream his name. Any moment now she would throw herself at him and-

"Why are you lying on the floor?"

Damn it. He let out what he thought was a very convincing moan of unfathomable agony. As he'd hoped, she started toward him. Naturally she wouldn't be able to stand the sight of him lying-

She stepped over him. She _stepped over him_. Naruto moaned again, uncertainly this time. Instead of coming to his side, he heard her fiddling around the kitchen. The smell of coffee. Finally, she sighed. "Naruto, I'm a kunoichi, medic and your girlfriend. Don't you think I can tell blood from tomato sauce?"

… Fair enough. He cracked open an eye. "You're so heartless, Sakura-chan," Naruto complained.

She was standing over him with a mug of what he knew was her favourite blend of mocha with a dash of chocolate powder. "And your pranks are usually much better than this," she pointed out. She sipped her coffee. "So? What's the story behind this one? It'd better be good."

Grumbling, Naruto tucked his arms behind his head. "Well, you've been so busy with the hospital lately. I thought you needed a bit of fun."

"Fun," she repeated, sceptically eyeing his cut-up clothes and the ketchup dripping off every visible inch of his skin.

"Exactly!" One look told him she didn't buy it. Naruto licked some sauce from his lips. "We don't have time to see each other anymore," he admitted at last. "We haven't talked for weeks. Aren't you lonely?"

Sakura gazed down at him, at his imploring eyes. She could see where this was going now. Shaking her head, she sat down beside his sprawled figure. "Yes, Naruto, I get a bit lonely," she said, and smirked at the way his face lit up beneath the red. "But I know what you're really asking and I think you're being silly." She paused. "Well, sillier than usual, anyway."

"Heh?"

"'Does Sakura still care about me? I know! I'll play dead and she'll cry over my body and if she says _I love you, Naruto, don't leave me_ I'll know for sure.'" Naruto gaped. Sakura grinned back. "Busted."

He cringed. The plan had sounded a lot better in his head. Surely she was going to hit him. But he couldn't help it.

Sakura set her cup down and picked up the tissue box. Plucking a handful of napkins, she began to mop up his face. "Geez, you know me better than that, idiot. If I don't love you anymore, I'll tell you. And even if we don't work out, it's not like you'll lose me." Naruto's nose wrinkled as she scrubbed his cheek. "So clean yourself and my carpet up, and get back into your office, Hokage-sama. Shizune probably has ANBU out looking for you."

That made leaving even less appealing. "Aren't you happy to see me?" he pleaded.

"Usually, yes. When your lifeless body is the first thing I see when I get home, no." Sakura looked away. "And if you ever do that again, I'll… I'll hit you," she muttered.

Naruto blinked at that. Then he noticed that even though her expression was calm, Sakura was gripping the tissues unusually hard. His eyes softened. He supposed that, tomato sauce or not, some things overrode logic and reason at first sight. He'd done a terrible thing to Sakura, but he wasn't sorry. From the small smile she gave him when he leaned his face into her hand, she wasn't either.

"You know how you said you'd tell me if you didn't love me anymore?" Naruto said aloud. "That's never going to happen, right?"

"Took you long enough," Sakura teased. "No, it's not. I don't love you because we're going out, Naruto. I love you because you're my best friend."

"So how do I know when there's no more us anymore? Even now, how do I know you still love me like you want to get married?"

"… You just want me to kiss you, don't you?"

He grinned widely. "You _want_ to kiss me."

"I have a cup of very hot coffee in my hand."

"I have very sexy lips on my face."

"… You did not just say that."


	37. Boyfriend vs Sisterhood

_Boyfriend vs. Sisterhood_

The boyfriend was the worst part about having best friends. It was never pretty. Shikamaru almost went home with a dislocated shoulder during his 'initiation'. That was _Shikamaru._ Naruto… well. Sakura was all for girl power, but she would prefer to keep her boyfriend out of the hospital.

Unfortunately, no amount of educated excuses could sway her friends.

"Rules are rules, Sakura," Tenten had sung. "The guy needs our blessing."

"We'll be gentle." Sakura would never trust Ino when she was using that sweet voice and the blonde knew it. Maybe Ino did mind that Sakura had almost decapitated Shikamaru after all.

Hinata hadn't said a word in defence for Naruto's chivalry, which meant she was just as determined to test him as the other two. Hinata had become a lot more resolute, and even stubborn, lately. Usually, Sakura approved. This time, not so much.

Two weeks of desperate delays later, the boyfriend met the sisterhood.

"Naruto, give me a hand. I can't reach that dress up there."

"Yes ma'am. Smallest size, right?"

"As if. It won't even make it past my head."

"No way. Confidence, Tenten! I say it'll look great on you. Believe it!"

At least Naruto was on his best behaviour. Sakura had made him swear on it – for his own safety – but she still had trouble believing her eyes. Willingly allowing himself to be dragged into every clothing store in town. Paying for everything she _and_ her friends bought. Carrying all their bags. Delivering snacks and refreshments. And now offering seemingly expert fashion advice. Only under the threat of bodily harm could Naruto be so perfect. Jerk.

But it had kept him unscathed so far, and even if his unusual gentlemanliness made Sakura fume, she was glad. She was the only one allowed to pummel him comatose, after all.

"Ew. You can't even do black," Ino sighed loudly, reminding Sakura where she was: half-naked in Konoha's most expensive boutique. Right. "God, what is _wrong_ with your rack, Sakura?"

Sakura stopped pulling at the indecently short hem. "My _rack_?" she echoed indignantly.

"And your hair," Ino added with a distasteful glare at the offending locks. "And your skin – why are you so white for?"

"You're talking," Sakura retorted through gritted teeth. If she snapped at Ino now, she'd be going to the New Year's party in her pyjamas.

"_I _can pull it off." And she could, damn it.

"It's not that bad…" Hinata's optimism might have been more convincing without the uncertain waver in her tone. Sakura couldn't blame her. Some of the dresses were decent on her, but this black one made her look like a bouquet fit for a funeral.

Looking back at her disgraceful reflection in the mirror, Sakura sighed. "Can I get out of this now?" The thin fabric clinging to her hips made walking even more challenging than Tsunade-shishou's training. Which was saying something.

"We've been at this for three hours," Ino groaned in despair.

Sakura took that as a yes and retreated back into the change room, almost tripping over the piles of dresses Ino had condemned. She could understand the blonde girl's frustration. Since when was finding a dress so difficult? Even Tenten, who was pickier than Sakura, seemed to have found something.

"Sakura-chan? Do you have stuff you want me to put back?"

"Naruto," Sakura moaned. "Kill me now."

"Eh?"

"It's hopeless," Ino said wearily. "Today is not Forehead's day. Nothing she gets in gives off that 'wow' vibe."

"The violet one looked okay," Hinata offered.

In fact, a lot of the dresses at Sakura's feet looked 'okay' on her. If she was shopping by herself, she would have bagged them hours ago, satisfied that they would do. But shopping with Ino was like that. The girl had standards and goddamn it, they were high. Being her best friend was like being treated like an extension of her own body – and Yamanaka Ino would never be caught wearing anything merely 'okay'. It was probably too late to disassociate herself from ten years of friendship. Sakura despaired.

"Hmm…" Naruto sounded like he was actually thinking. Sakura could picture him on the other side of the door, tapping his chin thoughtfully with the tip of his tongue sticking out. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Why don't we just forget about this party and make snowmen together?"

He had no idea how good that sounded right now. But the New Year's party was the most important social event of the year and she actually had a proper date this time. That, and Sakura had to keep in mind that, no matter how chivalrous he had been so far, Naruto was still Naruto. Give him an inch and he would take a trip around the globe. Twice. Sakura feared she might spend the rest of her life making snowmen if she agreed.

Thankfully, Naruto suddenly yelped before she could answer. "Don't give her ideas," Ino scolded. She must have elbowed him in the gut. At last, Perfect Naruto had done something wrong.

"M-Maybe you can suggest something, Naruto-kun," Hinata consoled him. She had been nervous about Naruto seeing her in a dozen different dresses, but the first one Ino forced on her turned out to be _the _one. Hinata rarely got out of her jacket so no one had expected her to mould into any dress like it was custom-made for her curves. Sakura was too exasperated to be jealous.

"Maybe I can," Naruto said brightly.

Sakura paled. _Orange_, she thought instantly. _Orange. _"No ora-"

"What about that one over there? Sakura will look so good in orange!"

Sakura's head hit the fitting room door.

"Err, are you sure about that?" Tenten asked uncertainly. "I know you did a good job picking my dress and all, but Sakura's hair _is_ pink."

"So? This one looks like it'll fit her just right. And it goes with my tie. Perfect, doncha think?"

Sakura banged her head again. But it was okay. Ino would save her. Ino would never-

"Ugh, I give up. Give her anything, or we'll never get out of this place."

Traitor.

Naruto knocked cheerfully on the door. "Try this one on, Sakura-chan. You'll look so awesome, I promise."

She had something to promise, too. "I am never taking you shopping again."

"Aww, but I've been so good today."

_Until you gave me an _orange_ dress, _was what Sakura didn't say aloud. Instead, she just shook her head and reached up to take the hanger Naruto passed over the door. Her only comfort was that the dress was more red than orange, and longer than anything Ino had given her. She wasn't so sure about the low neckline, or the straps, but she might as well entertain him. He _had_ been good today and, well, sweet. If getting into one more dress would make him face the reality that his girlfriend was incompatible with his favourite colour, then so be it.

Sakura slipped into the smooth, silken fabric without so much as looking in the mirror. She didn't even bother fidgeting to make sure it rested right on her curves. There was nothing to do except close her eyes, take a deep breath, and open the door. Best to get it over and done with.

Silence.

"See, Naruto?" Sakura sighed, grimacing. "This is why I'm never going shopping with-"

"… Wow."

Wow? Frowning, Sakura opened her eyes.

Her friends looked shell-shocked with their ridiculously large eyes and unhinged jaws. Sakura winced. That bad? She shot Naruto an accusing look, only to meet his wide grin and enthusiastic thumbs up, like he'd known all along.

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura turned towards the mirror.

"Oh," she blurted. _Wow_, she'd meant to say, but she couldn't seem to get her jaw to close.

"He," Ino whispered mystically, "is such a keeper."

* * *

AN: Can you tell how much fun I had writing this one?


	38. Hypothermia

_Hypothermia_

"S-Sakura-ch-chan… am-am I g-g-g-going to d-d-die…?"

She sighed into her closet, before calling back, "And whose fault would it be if you did?" Where were those spare bed sheets? Didn't she usually keep them here?

"K-K-Kiba's!" He sneezed loudly for the sixth time. "He d-dared me!"

"So you let him build a snowman on you? That's the stupi – mmph!"

She'd found the bed sheets.

Naruto's head came up inquisitively at the strange noise. Bunching the blanket tighter around himself, he tried to crane his neck around the corner. "Sakura-chan? You okay?"

"You're in no shape to ask that question," her muffled voice pointed out. Her head breaking out of the avalanche, Sakura shook the masses of sheets and jackets out of her face. She eyed the mess she'd made of her wardrobe. She itched to restore its order immediately, but the idiot sitting in her living room was, as usual, her frustrating first priority. Exasperated, Sakura grabbed the sheets and returned to her teammate. "Here!"

Naruto didn't have time to yelp before an unbelievable amount of linen dropped on his head. Instead, the surprised exclamation caught in his scratchy throat and sent him into a coughing fit beneath the thick folds. Making a face while simultaneously leaving a note to be thorough with her laundry, Sakura hastily unearthed her teammate and tried to arrange the thick quilts around his wet, trembling frame. "Mou, I'm going to throttle Kiba."

Naruto grinned goofily. "Sakura's so protective of me," he sang.

She responded with an asphyxiating tug of the blanket around his neck. "No, I'm going to kill him for getting you sick and infecting my apartment with your germs," she scoffed.

Naruto sneezed again, looking miserable. "Sobby," he mumbled.

Sighing, Sakura picked up the towel she had left on the coffee table and threw it back over Naruto's dripping hair. He made grunts of protest as she towelled his shaggy locks, making loud sniffling noises in between. "Ew," she said. "Blow your nose."

"Bo tibbu."

"Just use your handkerchief." She knew he carried one. It was orange with a frog face printed on one side, and for some reason, was always perfectly ironed. But Naruto shook his head. "What, you didn't bring it? I thought you had it with you all the time."

"I boo," he answered. He sniffed vigorously, temporarily unblocking his stuffed nose. "I just don't want to use it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Because?" She was surprised to see Naruto lower his head in faint embarrassment. He mumbled something inaudible. Frowning, Sakura leaned in. "Speak up, silly."

She was so close that her hair was brushing against his cheek. Naruto curled up, trying to direct his sickly breath away from her face. "That handkerchief's special," he said eventually.

Sakura waited.

"Well, see… it's only allowed to be used for Sakura-chan's tears."

The hand still idly drying his hair stopped. Naruto squirmed slightly, before sheepishly meeting Sakura's eyes. "A-Ah, don't worry, it's always clean," he added hastily. "And it's not like I _want_ you to cry or anything – well, I used to so I could come to your rescue and look cool–" Her expression changed. Damn mouth. Naruto waved his hand quickly. "But that was when we were still kids! It's different now… uh… yeah, I could do with some tissues right now…?"

Of course, she didn't move. She was still staring at him and it broke through his chilled skin like hot flames. Naruto gulped, averting his skittish gaze.

Then her forehead gently touched against his. She was so warm. "Baka," Sakura murmured.

Naruto began to smile. His nose twitched.

"If only you looked after yourself that well." Sakura absently arranged the damp towel around his neck as a makeshift scarf. "I'm not a damsel in distress, you know," she continued. "I can take care of myself. And you."

Him too, huh? That sounded good.

"Looks like you'll be staying here tonight. Guess I'll be cooking…"

… _That_ did not sound good. "Uh, wait… ah…"

"… Yes?" If he was going to bring up the last time she'd tried to make congee, she was going to-

"ACHOO!"

- kill him.

* * *

A/N: Uni is being hectic but I think I'm going to try work out a system so I can get enough downtime to write every now and then. I'll be updating my writing blog with news about that soon, so be sure to check it out.

Winter's slowly creeping in here (not really but eventually) so try not to get sick, Aussies. Oh, and don't forget daylight saving, haha.


	39. Feline

_Feline_

Uzumaki Ren was only four years old but she was privy to classified information that even Konoha's council members were not aware of. For example, only the tiniest handful of trusted confidants knew that the Hokage wore the head medic's pink leg warmers on cold days. Ren knew because she was sitting on them.

Naruto winced as Sakura's glowing finger brushed the thin gash on his cheekbone. "Man up, Hokage-sama," she teased. "You can fight with half your ribs crushed but you can't stand a little 'paper cut'?"

He crossed his arms indignantly. "Paper cuts are battle scars. Right, Ren?"

"Right!" Ren was sitting in his lap with the same pout on her face, arms crossed just like his. She was at that age where her father was her greatest idol, the man she was going to marry when she grew up. Lately, she had taken pride in copying everything Naruto did. Sometimes, Sakura actually had trouble telling the difference.

Ren even mimicked Naruto's wince as Sakura gently tapped the fresh scrape under her chin. "Let me guess," Sakura said thoughtfully, pretending to think hard. "You tripped."

Her father's knee bucked slightly beneath her. Ren blinked at Sakura with the eyes she had inherited from her, and then grinned widely. "How did you know, Mummy?"

Sakura grinned back. "Because Mummy knows that cats are really hard to catch."

Ren's large eyes widened. She was too excited to notice Naruto urgently nudging her with his knee – if there was one thing she loved more than copying her father, it was regaling her mother with her adventures. "It was really, really, really fast!"

Sakura smiled and lightly held Ren's head still as she healed her chin. She glanced up at Naruto – who immediately ceased sending distress signals to their oblivious daughter. Sakura's eyes flickered knowingly and didn't leave his as she asked, "How fast did it run, Ren?"

"Faster than Daddy when Mummy is angry!"

A strangled sound erupted from the base of Naruto's throat as he choked on his daughter's impression of him. "Wait till I show you the Hiraishin, Renny. No one is faster than your daddy. Believe it!"

Ren gazed up at him with awe, bouncing excitedly. "Really? Can we catch the cat with it?"

Naruto puffed out his chest. "You bet. We can catch dozens of cats in seconds. I'll show you next-" He stopped dead then, sweat beading at his scalp. Ren cocked her head in puzzlement.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Wow."

Oh Kami. "Uh, Sakura-chan, I can-"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hai!"

"Are you telling me that you went through all that effort to tell me that _convincing_ story of how the paperwork you abandoned attacked you-"

"Well, I wouldn't use the word _abandoned_…" Naruto mumbled, but of course Sakura ignored him.

"-and after all that, you didn't even managed to _catch_ the cat?"

Naruto hastily raised Ren's hand as if in defence. "It was Renny's first hunt!" he protested. "I couldn't help her too much. An Uzumaki's first cat retrieval is their first trial of honour!"

Sakura looked pointedly at him, suddenly feeling delightfully evil. "And how many times did Tora scratch your honour on your first hunt?" She smirked at his dismayed expression. "Let me think… well, she did a number on your face alone so- mmph!"

Ren ducked with a giggle as her father shot forward and sealed her mother's next words with his lips. She didn't get to see much else, though; even as she leaned in, Sakura remembered to cover their daughter's eyes.

His fingers caught in strands of her hair as he guided her face closer to his. "Let's not tell Ren about my first trial of honour, yeah?" Naruto breathed.

She chuckled. "Are you bribing me?"

"Hell no." He grunted as her teeth caught his lip.

"Language, Naruto."

"Um, sugar no?"

Sakura smiled and pulled away, just as Ren managed to prise her mother's hand away from her face. "Come, Ren," she said, lifting the curious child off Naruto's lap. "Mummy will show you how to catch a cat."

Ren's face positively sparkled. "Really? But even Daddy missed it."

Sakura nuzzled her. "Well, who do you think is stronger? Mummy or Daddy?"

Naruto grinned and flexed his biceps.

"Mummy!"

"Sugar!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry if the writing seemed choppy! I think I had trouble switching from writing SasuHina drabbles to NaruSaku ones after so long, haha.


	40. Melodrama

_Melodrama_

Some things made Naruto skip and sing on his way home. A few made him cringe and drag his feet. Sakura belonged to the first group. Her cooking fell under the second.

When he cautiously poked his head through the door, the lack of toxic black smoke fooled Naruto into thinking it would be a good day. After all, he'd gotten up early, worked up a good sweat sparring with Lee, and it looked like Sakura had decided to make instant ramen instead of setting off the fire alarm with her cooking.

Grinning, Naruto kicked off his shoes and energetically swung his arms as he walked down the hallway. "Sakura-chan," he sang. "I'm home!"

Nothing. Well, he'd just have to surprise her.

Naruto muffled his footsteps as he neared the kitchen. He sniffed the air. Didn't smell like she'd made anything yet. He was ravenous though. Maybe he should cook breakfast instead. That would get him in the good books of both Sakura and his stomach.

Nodding to himself, Naruto stopped at the edge of the doorway. He flattened his back to the wall, listening to the faint rustling of Sakura's movement for a moment.

"Hi hon-"

Naruto's loud greeting cut off when he jumped out and almost collided with Sakura. Who was surprising who now? But that wasn't why the last of his cheer died before it reached his lips.

His eyes widened and his arms lowered to his side. "Sakura…? What's wrong?" He wasn't sure why he was whispering.

Maybe it was the sight of Sakura leaning against the door and holding her head with a pale frown. She didn't even seem to notice him until he gently lifted her chin. Her eyes flickered when they met his worried ones. Shaking her head, she took her hand off the door to reach for him. "Naruto-"

The sound of her thin voice was the last strike. Naruto snapped out of his hesitant daze – and jumped straight into panic.

With a sudden cry, he grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her into the corridor. He crouched over her as his narrowed eyes darted to all the windows.

Sakura tried to push him off her. "Naruto, what are you-"

"Are you hurt?" he asked her urgently, his head snapping back to look at her. "Is this an ambush? I can't believe I didn't sense it when I came in. God, I'm such an _idiot_!"

She stared at him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but clenched her jaw shut and winced before any words could form. Naruto immediately stopped looking for assailants and even tossed his kunai aside as he lifted Sakura toward his chest. "Sakura-chan?" he breathed. "_Sakura-chan?"_

"Idiot… stop shaking me."

Naruto hastily obliged, but jostled her twice as much picking her up. "Oh no," he groaned. "Sakura, stay with me. I'll get you to the hospital, okay? Hold on for two seconds – no, one!"

Now Sakura's eyes widened like she hadn't been fully awake until now. They flew to the three-pronged kunai Naruto had pulled from his sleeve. Her mouth opened. Then she remembered to close it a fraction of a second before the walls began to spin like a whirlwind.

"Shizune-neechan!" Naruto was yelling before the howling winds even died. Sakura didn't dare open her eyes, let alone let go of the death grip she had on his shoulder. "Shizune! Quick! Sakura's hurt!"

"What? Hurt? How-"

"I don't know!" Naruto would be desperately ripping out his hair if he didn't have Sakura in his arms. "Save her? Please tell me you can save her."

"Calm down, Naruto. Put her down – careful…" But Sakura wouldn't let go of Naruto, her face buried in his chest.

Naruto looked helplessly at Shizune. "She's dying!" he blubbered. "What do I do? What good is Hokage if – agh!"

Because Sakura's fingers had curled and fisted around his arm with a familiar, tremendous strength. She slowly lifted her head off Naruto's shoulder. Her complexion was scarlet. "I am not," she hissed through gritted teeth, "dying."

While Naruto gawked speechlessly, Shizune stepped forward and laid her hand on Sakura's moist forehead. She tilted her head and looked at Sakura to confirm. The exasperated sigh told her everything.

"Naruto." He blinked and looked dumbly at her as the alarm ebbed away, leaving him in a daze. Shizune struggled to keep her face straight. "Sakura has morning sickness. It's perfectly normal at her stage."

For a long moment, Naruto just stared blankly at her. Then, gradually, his eyes grew to the size of oranges.

When nothing came out of his open mouth, Shizune glanced at Sakura, who looked equally wary. She hesitated. "You _do _know she's pregnant, right?" she asked slowly.

Naruto seemed to jump. Sakura's grip on his arm was really starting to hurt now. Gulping, he looked down at her. _You can't be serious,_ her eyes said. She was almost begging him.

His gaze trailed down to rest on the slight bump at her belly, which he had stroked and cooed at only the night before. He swallowed dryly.

"I… forgot."

* * *

A/N: Been a while since the first drabble. Hope you guys enjoyed this one!


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